Starting Over
by MyHairyFace
Summary: Hikari has come to Castanet to start over, but why? What happened to her family? And who is this mystery man she keeps talking about and why did she leave him? Will she be able to find love again? Rated T mostly because i'm paranoid. Its HikariXGill :P
1. Chapter 1, A New Beginning

**~*Hey guys, this is my first fanfic, although I've been writing for a long time now :) Let me know what you think! It'll probably have a BUNCH of chapters and i'll update as soon has possible for me :P Review please*~ btw, I do not own harvest moon, nor the characters, just borrowin them cause they're pretty much great. ;D thank you nice programmers/designers at Natsume for letting me do this :)**

The boat rocked back and forth on the waves as I stared out at the ocean. Off in the distance I could see the silhouette of the small island I was about to make my new home. I sighed and leaded hard into the guardrail, totally defeated.

"This sucks." I said, putting my head on my arms and sighing heavily

"Don't much care for traveling by Boat do yah missy?" The captain asked me in a light tone. I looked up at him; he stood beside me, reveling at the beauty of the ocean.

"It's not so much traveling I don't like: I'm kinda freaked out to be trying to do something like this on my own" I admitted.

"So what's this big thing you're going to do?"

"I'm… starting a farm" I tried to smile,

"That's great!" he said enthusiastically

"Yeah" I sighed.

"Well, my name is Pascal. I make frequent runs to land and so forth" he took his pipe out of his mouth and studied it,

"Hikari." I said smiling at him

"Lovely to meet you Hikari" he smiled down at me encouragingly, "Well, we're almost there!"

I looked up to see the silhouette of the island now very large, the journey was a lot shorter than I had thought it would be. This notion shot a spurt of fear down my spine. I shivered. _That means I'm not as far away as I had hoped. _I quickly brushed that thought away. No… this was far enough. No one would know I was here. Not even… him. I closed my eyes tightly and lay my head back down on my arms.

I stood at the end of the pier, suitcase in hand, staring at the island sign, "Castanet." I said aloud. It had a nice ring to it; I smiled to myself, suddenly filled with inspiration and hope. I spun around triumphantly and slammed right into something, my bags flew into the air and landed in a heap with me underneath them

"Ow, Ow, Ow…" I said trying to push my way out from beneath them,

"Oh man, I'm sorry!" I looked up to see a large, muscular boy with red hair. His hair was styled to stay up, I assumed so it wouldn't get in my way. It resembled the hairstyle _his _hairstyle. I suddenly felt sick. I came here to forget… The boy in front of me picked up my bags with one hand, balancing them nicely on his arm he offered me is other hand, "Are you okay? That was pretty… uh…" he stifled a laugh, "graceful" his laugh slightly escaped his lips as I took his hand, blushing deeply,

"I know," I said standing up, "I'm the picture of grace and balance" I brushed myself off while the boy boomed with laughter, it was a comforting sound: his loud personality was nothing like what… or who… I had left behind. I couldn't help but smile.

"Well, at least you're aware of this. Hey I'm Owen by the way, I work at the blacksmith's place" He smiled a big goofy smile down at me.

"I'm Hikari," I smiled back, "I'm… well, I guess I'm going to start a farm here" I said shyly.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean… farming: tools, sharp objects, large animals… you've just proved to me your level of control" he teased.

"I know I'm a clutz, get over it," I laughed, "don't worry, I grew up on a farm. I know that's hard to imagine, but I'll be fine" He smiled broadly at me and I stared up at him

"What…?" he said suddenly self-conscience.

"My luggage," I pointed to it still delicately being held on one arm, "you're kinda… jacked." I giggled

"Oh!" he said putting it down, "sorry about that!" He blushed but laughed loudly anyway,

"Hey Owen, could you tell me where the town hall is? I really need to sort everything out."

"Of course! Actually, I'll go with you, carrying your stuff is the least I could do after knocking you over like that" He beamed

"Oh, you don't have to do a—"But he had already picked them up and was walking down the pier, "w-wait!" I shouted after him

"I'm going to leave you behind if you don't hurry it up!" he called back laughing loudly.

We chatted lightly on the way over to city hall; his strides were much bigger than mine so I had to run a little to keep up. He definitely noticed this as every so often he'd watch me stumble out of the corner of his eye and laugh quietly. I would blush and he would chuckle to himself,

"you're cute" he said, cocking his head to one side, I flushed deep pink, "I mean, in a little kid way" he laughed, "Tripping over yourself, always seeing if I noticed, I could just hug you!" he boomed and grinned widely

"Well maybe if you didn't walk so fast" I mumbled.

"But then you wouldn't get the chance to be cute!" he laughed loudly and I blushed deeper. Although he wasn't what I was expecting, Owen made me feel like this whole farm thing might really work out. Maybe everyone on Castanet would be this welcoming! I smiled to myself as he opened the door to City Hall for me.

"Hamilton!" Owen shouted into the empty front room. The volume of his voice startled me a little, but there was no reply. "Hamilton!" he shouted again this time walking deeper into the main lobby, approaching the front desk. Still no answer "HAM-"

"Do you _mind_" a very angry boy, walking swiftly out from a back room, scowled sternly. He was holding a notebook in one hand and was glowering at Owen. Despite the look on his face I couldn't help but notice his good looks. I was peeking around Owen to stare at him when he spoke again,

"Owen, I know it's hard for you to understand, but _some _people do work that involves concentration, not just brute strength" the boy said sardonically.

"Ooh, mayor's kid wants to fight does he?" Owen growled, advancing on him, "All that brute strength sure could come in handy right about now, huh Gill?" he was now standing only inches away from the boy named Gill, looking down at him,

"Is there a reason you're here Owen, besides to show off?" Gill smirked at him confidently. I couldn't understand why, Owen was much bigger than him. Maybe it was because of who is father was, and knew Owen wouldn't do anything. It didn't matter how good looking Gill was, he was a jerk: simple as that.

"Nope." Owen said lightly backing away from him, "Just wanted to escort my new friend to see your father" He looked back at me and smiled his big goofy smile again. His face still had a definite red tint to it: he was still angry at Gill.

"I see," Gill looked over at me, "And you are?"

"Oh um… I'm… Hikari… I wanted to um… start a farm here?" I ended up making it sound a lot more like a question than I wanted to.

"Well I—" Gill started but was interrupted by a large BANG

"A FARM YOU SAY?" a little man in a waistcoat burst through the door, it slammed against the wall causing the large noise.

"Well y-yes" I stammered

"That's WONDERFUL!" the little man said rushing towards me, grabbing my hands in his, "I will set up a house for you immediately!"

"R-really?" was all I could manage to say before the little man started again,

"Of course! Oh dear me, where are my manners, I'm Hamilton, the mayor of this beautiful Island. I actually already have a house built…" he stopped and pondered for a moment, before shouting, "YES! It's the PERFECT place!"

"Okay," I smiled, "how much will I owe you for it?"

The mayor looked at me for a moment, a concerned look upon his face, "I don't want to scare you away…" he said slowly, "But is 5000 a fair price?" He then started talking in a rushed manner, trying to soften the blow, "I mean, you don't have to pay it all at once, you can give it whenever you want! A year from now even! I mean I really don't—"

"That sounds great!" I cut him off as I reached into my rucksack and handed him a large roll of bills. _Thanks mom and dad, _I thought to myself, suddenly grief stricken. The mayor's eyes looked like dinner plates and I soon realized the three men in the room were staring at me, mouths hanging open. I blushed and cleared my throat, "is something wrong?" I asked timidly

"No… no this is fine… Say…" the mayor asked nervously, "you're not a… criminal or something are you?" I couldn't help but giggle, but then suddenly remembered the topic…

"No, it's my inheritance" I said grimly.

"Who died?" Owen asked

"Owen! That's not—" Gill was interrupted before he could finish his scolding,

"Crap, I'm sorry!" Owen realized he had crossed the line and measured my expression, "I didn't mean to pry…"

"It's okay," I lied; "The death wasn't a big deal" I tried to smile but knew it looked as fake as it really was. Owen frowned and hung his head a little

"Well, if that's that then" the mayor said, placing the money on the front desk and clapping his hands together, "Gill, will you show Hikari to her new home? Tell her about Yuuki on the way too won't you?" Gill glared at his father and then sighed,

"Fine." He said dully, "Let's get going"

Owen looked at me suddenly concerned, "Hamilton? I could take Hikari there if you want?" he said quickly.

"That's very considerate Owen, but I'd like Gill to tell her about the town some more"

"But I—"

"Hadn't you got some work to be doing anyway?" the mayor inquired, interrupting him

"Yeah I guess I should get back…" Owen looked over at me, I could he concern in his eyes.

"Don't worry" I smiled at him encouragingly, "I'll be fine, I'm tough remember?" I flexed and winked at him.

He smiled back and handed my bags to Gill, when Gill was close enough Owen grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him closer to him, "You better be polite" he growled before letting him go, "See yah around Hikari!" he waved enthusiastically at me, shot a dirty look at Gill, and then marched out of the Hall.

"Well," Gill sighed, "Want to get going?"

"S-sure"

As we left, the Mayor leaned in and whispered something into his son's ear. Gill blushed deeply and pushed his father away cursing under his breath. I could have sworn a heard a "Go get em tiger" …

**~*First chapter done, I'm nearly done the second, Hope you all like it so far! :D Don't forget to review!*~**


	2. Chapter 2, My Fav part of Castanet is

**Chapter Two: My Favorite Part of Castanet is... Hope y'all like it :) please review. **

Starting over: Chapter Two

Gill and I walked in silence for a while as I took in the surroundings of the Island.

"It's beautiful" I said softly

"Pardon me?" Gill looked over his shoulder but kept walking, he looked annoyed.

"Oh… um… I was just saying that it's really nice here…" I didn't like how nervous he made me feel

"Oh. Yeah, Castanet was less than enjoyable not that long ago unfortunately," he scowled, "Luckily, when Yuuki started his ranch here things got a lot better. He's been bringing the island back to what it used to be."

"I'm sorry, but who's Yuuki? I heard your father mention him earlier too…" I said timidly.

"Weren't you listening?" he snapped, "He's a farmer, like you. I'm sure he'll offer assistance seeing as you're a beginner, so I'll introduce you to him."

"Thanks," I smiled, "but I'm not a beginner… well on this island yeah, but not at farming."

"Really?" Gill stopped walking suddenly and I almost ran into him

"Y-yeah" I stammered, stumbling backwards. He turned to face me, an intense but curious look on his face,

"You ran a farm before this?" he inquired, his icy gaze fixed on my face,

"Well… I… No I helped on my parents Farm…" My heart beat erratically, I wasn't sure if it was the subject we were on or Gills presence, both frightened me a little.

"Were you supposed to inherit it?"

"I guess you could say that…"

"So why'd you leave?" He asked frankly, stepping closer to me; He sounded slightly annoyed. I looked down at my feet. _Why does he even care…? _

"I… I…" My throat started to burn and I could feel the tears welling up behind my eyelids. _No, no, NO! I don't want to cry… especially not in front of HIM. _We stood in silence for a while, Gill stared down at me, but I knew the moment I spoke tears would follow. Finally Gill sighed,

"Whatever. I don't care that much anyway, just as long as you know what you're doing" he said as he turned around and kept walking, "are you coming or not?" he called back at me.

"Yeah," I managed to say, and followed him.

We arrived at my new house faster than I thought we would, which turned out to be a blessing. I didn't want Gill asking me anymore questions about my past. The whole point of coming here was to avoid thinking about such things. But none of that mattered now; I had to focus on raising my farm.

"Hey-oo" I heard as Gill handed me the key to my new home, I turned around to see a boy about my age with nappy brown hair. His clothes were stained with dirt and grass,

"Oh good, I thought I'd have to try and locate you" Gill said, looking at the boy, "Hikari, this is Yuuki. Yuuki, Hikari. She's here to start a ranch."

"That's awesome!" Yuuki said beaming at me, "I'm so happy ranchers are finally coming back to Castanet. You'll love it here!" I couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm.

"Yeah, I hope we can help each other out" I smiled at him, trying to match his elation.

"Anyway," Gill interrupted our conversation, obviously annoyed, "Yuuki, can you show her around? I have a lot of other important things to attend to. Giving _tours _isn't exactly on my to-do list." Yuuki smiled and then nodded at Gill. Gill dropped my things on the porch and starting walking towards me,

"I hope you like it here," he said it coldly as he proceeded to walk away. I was suddenly filled with emotion: I turned on my heels sharply,

"I'm sorry to have wasted so much of your precious time!" It was a lot louder and filled with more anger than I wanted it to be. Gill turned around and I was caught by his Ice Blue eyes, but they were not filled with the same anger I had just felt. I couldn't break his gaze as he walked closer to me, amused. He stood only inches away from me now and leaned in closely, his mouth now at my ear,

"You didn't." he whispered, his warm breath sent shivers down my spine. He leaned away, clearly satisfied with himself and walked away. I stared at him, my eyes wide with wonder. For the second time today I couldn't move because of Gill, but this time… It was a different feeling.

Yuuki turned out to be a total blessing to me. I was overjoyed that he was giving me the tour instead of Gill, who I still couldn't even begin to figure out. Yuuki's enthusiasm never wavered as he showed me around Castanet.

"Oh! Man! These are the Garmon mines, my FAVORITE part of Castanet!" he raved, "And here we have Fugue Forest, my _favourite _place in the world!" Each part of Castanet was his favourite something or other. I couldn't help but smile at the famers love for the island he had been restoring.

"This… this is uh… this is Horn Ranch…" Yuuki said, suddenly blushing.

"What? You don't like it?" I was surprised as suddenly all his enthusiasm seemed to vanish,

"No! No I love it!" he blushed deeper as I stared at him, completely puzzled.

"Well… what's on Horn Ranch?" I said, trying to see deeper into his reaction, he mumbled something I couldn't hear, "Pardon me?" I asked patiently, I couldn't hind the amusement in my voice.

"Renee…" he sighed.

"Oh hooo! Renee huh? Is she hot?" I winked at him, and couldn't help control my giggles.

"She's… amazing." He wasn't ashamed I was teasing him; he didn't even seem to notice. His expression was serious as he talked about her brilliance. He raved about her way with animals and her talent at catching fish for a long time. I giggled,

"Why don't you ask her out?"

"Wha—but she—and the—I couldn't—She doesn't—" He sputtered turning bright red.

"I'm sure she likes you, even if she doesn't always show it" I smiled at him encouragingly.

"I… well I… I want a drink! How about you! I'll show you my favourite bar EVER!" He said loudly, clearly changing the subject. I laughed as he grabbed my arm and starting pulling me back to Harmonica Down and the Brass Bar.

I was still laughing and he was still blushing when we reached the bar, Yuuki plopped down on a barstool and buried his head in his hands, I followed and sat beside him still supressing giggles.

"Hi-ya Yuuki!" a blonde cowgirl hollered from behind the bar. He just waved half-heartedly, keeping his head down. She looked over at him and then to me,

"What are you the grim reaper or something? Yuuki's usually a ball of fire!" She asked eyeing me suspiciously.

"N-no" I said, taken by surprise, "I'm Hikari, I—"

"Oh the farm girl!" I heard a male voice say from the kitchen. Out walked a tall, lanky boy, with peach coloured hair. He wiped his hands on his apron and smiled mischievously in my direction.

"How did you…?" I stared at him, puzzled.

"Gill came in earlier today, wouldn't shut up about you actually." He said with a smirk

"So THIS is that weird girl he was talking about?" The cowgirl shouted, realization resounding in her voice.

"Weird girl!" I flushed. _How dare he? Why was he talking about me anyway, and_ _if he was SOO busy today, WHY did he have time to come for a drink! _"He's the weird one" I mumbled. The cowgirl erupted with laughter,

"Hit the nail on head there hunny," she laughed again, "Well I just think you're the cutest! I'm Kathy, lovely to meet you!" she held out her hand, I took it smiling broadly.

"It's really great you meet you" I beamed.

"Chase!" she shouted, suddenly annoyed, "Introduce yourself!" her sudden change in mood startled me.

"Well now I don't have to, you just did Kathy."

"Don't be rude!"

"Oh I'm sorry," he cleared his throat and walked up to me, putting out his hand, "I'm Chase, _loooovely _to meet you" he mocked her.

"Chase! So help me!" she screamed shoeing him into the kitchen angrily. He laughed heartily, leaned out the door, and winked while shooting me the peace sign. I couldn't help but smile. Yuuki even sat up and started giggling along with me. Things would work out, I just knew it… For some reason though… I couldn't shake the image of those icy blue eyes…

**Chapter Three is in construction: this one will be a lot more about HikariXGill ;D hope you look forward to it! thanks for reading :) and reviewing ;D**


	3. Chapter 3, more New friends

**Third chapter done! i hope you guys like it, continue to review guys, i love them! Thanks so much though those of you that did/ do :3**

My arms and legs ached as I walked toward Horn Ranch. I had forgotten how much work plowing the fields was, and this was my first time starting from scratch. I usually just finished up the work after my father did the hard part… I sighed heavily and shook my head. Luckily I had managed to save many of the seeds from back home. They were one of the only things that managed to survive, that and my farming equipment. I thought about that, and how terrible it truly was. I was so lost in thought that I walked RIGHT into a tree, I was going at a fast enough speed that it knocked me right over. I really needed to learn to look where I was going.

"Oh that's awesome," I mumbled to myself as I rubbed my face. I heard laughter erupt from above me,

"Oh fail, so fail!" a lean but muscular boy laughed as he jumped out from the tree I just smacked into. His blue hair shot out in a bunch of different directions from under his bandana, "I can honestly say that I've never seen someone mess up WALKING that bad," He was hysterical, "I mean, it's a tree, it doesn't move unless I'm chopping it down but I hadn't even started yet!" he howled and rolled around on the ground,

"Glad I amuse you," I moaned, standing up. Now every part of my body hurt,

"Awh, I'm sorry," he said trying to catch his breath, "it was just… just…" he erupted with laughter once more so I started to walk away, "Oh, no wait!" he said chasing after me, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but you gotta admit…"

"I know," I sighed, "I walk into stuff, I've accepted this part of me"

"That's great!" he snickered, "Okay, I'm Luke!" He held out a large rough hand for me to shake,

"Hikari…" I said taking it timidly. He shook with much enthusiasm which didn't help the whole aching muscles thing.

"Yeah I work at the carpenters, with this other kid, his name's Bo. SO NICE; you'd love him I'm sure. And Dale, he's the mastaaaa" He chuckled, "he's also my father. You'll defiantly have to meet them soon!"

I blinked dramatically. Luke was kinda… crazy.

"So anyway, why are you here?" he asked taking out a large axe and holding it up the tree,

"I'm starting a farm," I said, watching him position the axe against the tree's bark,

"Oh cool. Hey," His eyes suddenly gleamed as he looked over at me, "I'm going to punish this tree for jumping in front of you like that" He winked and swung the axe. The wood crackled under his blow and he smiled as he hit it a second time.

"Thanks for that;" I smiled widely, "I really gotta get going now though,"

"Yeah for sure! Oh hey, see you when you decide you want to upgrade your… uh… house," He must have known the poor condition of which my house was in. I couldn't help but laugh,

"Will do," I laughed loudly and continued on my way.

I got to Horn Ranch soon after meeting Luke and walked into the main house, I was greeted by the ranch owner Cain and his wife Hannah, I introduced myself but it would appear Kathy had already told them all about me. I smiled politely as we discussed livestock.

"Mom, dad, I was just won— Oh, hello there," A little brown haired girl entered the room gently leading a calf behind her.

"Hello, I'm Hikari," I stared at her for a moment before I was hit with a realization, "Are you by any chance… Renee?" my curiosity got the best of me as I tried to be polite.

"Why yes, I am actually," She smiled widely, "How'd you know?"

"Yuuki was really impressed by you apparently," I winked, "he told me a lot about you yesterday on my tour." Renee blushed deeply.

"Oh… I… Well I…" She seemed uneasy and I immediately felt guilty for bring it up so I smiled encouragingly at her,

"About how good you are at ranching and how I should ask you any questions I have, I mean," I explained.

"Oh, oh yes of course," she seemed to collect herself, "Actually, I was just about to ask, Mom, Dad, we don't really have room for this calf: Can I give it to Hikari?" She looked expectantly at her parents, who nodded in agreement,

"Yes of course, I was just about to fetch one for her myself."

"Oh that's really not necessary," I stammered, "I can pay you I have—"

Hannah interrupted me, "No, no, you heard what Renee said: we don't have any room for it right now. And besides, we know we'll be getting more business from you in the future, it's the least we can do!"

I thanked them profusely as I headed out leading the calf home. I put in the barn and began fussing around it, making sure it had everything it needed. I put extra fodder in its trough and nuzzled its big head. The calf nuzzled me back, which brought back fond memories of my first cow…

"Cute," I heard a familiar voice say from the door of the barn, I whipped around to see Gill leaning casually against the door frame, "what's its name?"

"I dono yet." I said dully, turning my attention back to the cow,

"You're not going to name it after me?" He said walking closer, an amused smirk on his face,

"If I did that it'd probably grow up to be unsociable and taciturn, I really wouldn't like that," I looked up at him; there was amusement in his smile and icy eyes,

"Some people don't have the luxury of being loud and obnoxious," He said, his usual rude smirk back on his face, "Lucky, your friend Owen does. Apparently." The last word was filled with spite.

"Why are you here?" I said, annoyance dripping off each word

"I wanted to make sure the house hadn't collapsed, killing you. The paper work for such a thing would be a bore." He said pulling absent-mindedly at a loose thread on his sleeve.

"Well… Still here" I said flatly, turning to the cow once more,

"Good." He said. We were silent for a moment before Gill spoke again, "Are you… enjoying Castanet?" he said slowly, obviously trying to make conversation. I sighed and stood up,

"Yes very much thanks," I said, trying to sound as exasperated as possible. He just smiled slightly at me,

"I hoped you would." My heart suddenly fluttered as I felt a blush rise to my cheeks, I looked down not wanting him to notice, "What's wrong?" He asked, puzzled.

"Nothing!" I shouted slightly. Why did Gill make me feel like this? I wanted nothing more than for him to just leave me alone.

"Ookaay…" He put his hands in the pockets of his black pants and turned away, "Well I guess I'd better be going, it's a very busy day at the office today," he walked to the door and turned back to face me again, "You should probably get to work too," the arrogance in his voice had returned and I felt myself being increasingly annoyed,

"Why'd you even walk all the way up here then?" I snapped at him,

"Like I said," he looked bored, "Making sure you were alright," With that he turned and walked nonchalantly away.

_Making sure I was alright..? Why? Oh right… paperwork. _I scowled, fed up with him and turned my attention back to my new cow.

**There you go, another chapter done :) i've been updating really quickly: hopefully I can keep this up :D don't forget to review :) i want to know what you guys think!**


	4. Chapter 4, figuring you out

**Alriiightt chapter four, :) this one's pretty intense ;P the story will start picking up now :) hope you enjoy it!**

Gill's POV.

I lay in my bed staring at the ceiling. I was too busy to not be able to sleep! _How annoying _I sulked.

"Stupid Farmer," I mumbled to myself, rolling over. I couldn't stop thinking about the tone in her voice. It echoed through my mind _"__Why'd you even walk all the way up here then?" _A little part of me really wished she would've been happy to see me.

"Hmpf," I sighed, tossing again. I didn't care about what she had said… it was more how she said it. Why did I care anyway? _I just want Castanet to go back to how it was, _I reasoned with myself, _and having farmers is the only way to do that: I'm just worried that she'll leave and then Castanet won't go back… I really could care less about her… _I rolled over again, frustrated. This was ridiculous. I got up and walked down the narrow stairs of my house and made myself a cup of tea with a dried herb I had gotten from Luna, the tailor girl, in an attempt of wooing me. Luna, the little pink haired girl… she was cute, I had become quite fond of her, but now as I thought about her I found myself scowling. _What's WRONG with me?_ I sat in the dark quietness, not wanting to wake up my father and hear another of his _"Find a wife Gill, Find a wife!" _speeches. I would die if I heard it one more time, this I was sure. I stretched and walked quietly back up the stairs, got back into bed and drifted into a deep sleep.

I was dreaming. I knew this for a few reasons: One: my deceased mother was there, and two: I could see not only the harvest sprites, but the Goddess again. They all walked down a long road with me, we chatted lightly, laughing and jesting. My mother tousled my hair,

"I love you Gilly," she smiled down at me,

"I love you too mom," I beamed back at her. At the end of the road was someone I was not expecting to see… Hikari was walking towards me, hunched over. She looked cold. My mother and the Goddess had a matching pained look on their faces when they saw the young farmer,

"Gill, she's all alone," My mother said, her voice drenched in sadness. Hikari was walking slowly, staring at the ground. The harvest sprites all turned to me and smiled encouragingly as I walked over to her,

"It's okay," I said soothingly, "You don't have to be alone anymore."

I woke with a start, sitting up in bed. _What the HELL was that about? _The sun was up so I decided to rise with it. I walked over to the bathroom and washed my face thoroughly. The dream was still vivid in my mind. _Well it's her own fault she's all alone, _I thought to myself, combing my bleach blonde hair thoroughly. _She's the one who didn't want her own families business. _I made a "tsk" sound. _She's weak; she'll just crumble under responsibility. I can't count on someone like HER to help save this island._ I fiddled with the cowlick I had inherited from my father, located just above my bangs. Frustrated I gave up and turned around, leaning hard against the sink…_ So then… why can't I stop thinking about her?_

Hikari's POV

I finished watering my newly planted seeds and collapsed on the ground, satisfied with myself. My body was still sore from the day before, so I knew I couldn't start collecting materials for my house upgrade just yet. I lay back into the soft grass and breathed deeply the smell of freshly turned over soil. It brought back memories of home and I couldn't help but close my eyes and smile. The wind blew my hair lightly around my face: this was truly bliss. I had gotten past the worst of my duties for the day, maybe later I could go hang out with Kathy and Renee. I could probably convince Owen and Yuuki to tag along too.

"Are you dead or something?" I frowned at the voice I recognized far too well.

"Yes. Now go away." I said, not opening my eyes.

"Well someone has to dispose of the body, do they not?"

"I'll just rot, it'll be fine. Leave now please." I opened one of my eyes as Gill chuckled quietly to himself. He stood over me, his hands in his pockets,

"That hardly encourages island tourism: decaying bodies lying about." He smirked. I sighed heavily and sat up,

"Why are you here? You were here yesterday too. For someone who claims to be SOOO busy, you seem to slack off an awful lot," I stood up and walked into the barn, he followed, the amused look never leaving his icy eyes. I tried not to think about how gorgeous he looked today, I also tried to ignore my stomach doing little backflips. He shrugged nonchalantly,

"I'm trying to figure you out," he said flatly, fiddling with a lock of his hair. I flushed, and turned away. _Figuring me out?_

"W-why would you want to do that?" I stammered, packing fodder neatly into my cow's trough.

"Because," he was suddenly intense, "I don't know if I can trust you to succeed here." From the way he said it I knew he wasn't joking.

"I told you already, I grew up on a farm!" I was getting increasingly annoyed by his mood swings. He pursed his lips then looked down at the calf,

"Have you named it yet?"

"No."

"Why don't you name it Kurt?" he said, pursuing the lock of hair once more.

"What did you say?" I stammered, my stomach suddenly tightening itself into a knot,

"Kurt?" he said, glaring at me, "like, Kurtis? I had a goldfish named Kurt as a child…"

"I—I—I don't like that name!" I shouted, he jumped a little,

"Okay… I don't see why b—"

"I JUST DON'T!" I screamed running out of the barn. I thought I might faint or be sick, neither was preferable.

"What is your _problem?_" Gill followed after me, his voice angry now.

"Go away!" I shouted walking briskly towards my house, he jumped in front of me blocking my path,

"Why?" he sounded genuine but I knew it was an act.

"Because" I hissed, "I don't want to deal with you right now." I pushed past him and reached for my door handle

"I get it," He said arrogantly, "I get why you left home," I froze,

"Oh yeah?" I breathed

"You know, I have to take over my family's business too. It's stressful: fulfilling their expectations, not letting them down, doing a good job... It's not for people who are weak. You couldn't handle all that responsibility, so you ran away. Am I right?"

I didn't move, he slowly walked up to me, "It's okay, some people can't handle stuff like that" he whispered, I couldn't tell if he was trying to be soothing. I turned and looked at him, rage filling me until I thought I would explode.

He looked down at me, smirked and started walking away. My feet stayed planted in the ground, suddenly, all the rage overflowed.

"You don't understand anything!" I screamed. Gill whipped around, alarmed.

"What?" he said, incredulously

"You have no idea! You don't know why I left! You know shit about me!" The tears were pouring down my face, but I didn't care anymore

"Well I just—" Gill started, his face still full of surprise

"NO!" I looked up at him, his mouth was hanging open in disbelief, "I don't know why you think you're better then everyone but you're not! My parents are _dead, _they're DEAD Gill! Call me weak, tell me I can't handle it Gill! That's _fine _by me!" I could barely see anything; my eyes were so filled with the hot salty water,

"The inheritance money…" he said slowly, putting all the pieces together,

"Congratulations Gill,' I sobbed, plastering a fake smile on my lips, "you've figured me out," I dug my heel hard into the ground and ran past Gill, knocking him to the side. I didn't know where I was going but it didn't matter, I just needed to get away from him. He stood there, watching me run, staring after me.

**Oh Gill, you moron. ;D hope you liked this chapter :) don't forget to review :D **


	5. Chapter 5, The clinic

**~Right on, right on, next chapter :)I updated quickly cause I didn't want to make you guys wait ;D Let me know what you think.~**

"Hikari! Wake up sleepy head! It's time for morning chores!" I yawned dramatically over at mother and stretched slowly, "Oh come on now, don't be lazy," She scolded, smiling,

"I'm too tired, I'll get up later," I said diving under my covers, curling into a tight little ball,

"No, no, no! Out of bed!" she over enunciated each word,

"I caaaan't," I moaned

"So there's no way you'll get up?"

"Nope." I wrapped myself deeper into my blankets,

"Ookay, you've forced me to do this," She mused. She walked out of the room and I heard her reenter with my father.

"Oh!" he said dramatically, "My little caterpillar is finally becoming a butterfly! I must free her from her metamorphic state! Open the cocoon!" With that he lifted me out of bed, trying to tear me out of the blankets as I screamed and kicked and laughed. I landed on the floor and he threw my blankets back on my bed, "Oh it's just as I thought!" he pretended to be awe-struck, "She's beautiful."

"Daad…" I blushed; He laughed loudly and hugged me,

"Come on mom, HUG!"

"Dad, no, weird, stop!" I protested, but he grabbed my mother and I and hugged us tightly,

"Alright, alright, time for work! Come on Hikari, let's get going!" He laughed, "Oh and by the way, I do believe a certain friend of yours is waiting for you: but I'll have no wooing around here until the cows are milked, am I understood?" I blushed again and then nodded quickly. He laughed loudly, then walked out of my room, and back to the fields. I smiled after him,

"Get dressed honey!" My mom fussed over me, but soon followed him outside.

I took a long time getting ready; knowing that a certain someone was waiting for me didn't help my self-consciousness. I ate my breakfast slowly, chewing each bite deliberately. I had almost finished my eggs when I heard the first scream. I stood up quickly knocking over my chair and ran for the door. As I got outside, large red and orange flames were engulfing the barn, and I could see neither of my parents. The black smoke bellowed over our entire land as I ran into the barn after them. The smoke was too thick to see through so I called for them,

"Mom! Dad! Where are you?" I heard no answer, only more screaming,

"Hikari!"

"No! No! MOM! DADDY!" I screamed and kicked, something had me tightly, and I tried to free my arms and legs,

"Hikari! Hikari wake up!" A voice I was not expecting to hear was calling after me,

"Help me! Help me! They're going to die!" I screamed as loud as I could, still fighting off whatever had me. I punched and struggled with all my might,

"HIKARI!" My eyes shot open, "Ouch," Was all Owen said as I stared up at him. I was in his arms and Kathy was jogging closely beside him, staring down at me, a concerned look in her eye,

"Hikari, you're awake? Are you okay?" She was frantic and it looked like she was on the verge of crying herself. Rain was pouring down on the three of us.

"I-I…" the memory had formed itself into a dream… After all my efforts of keeping it away, it kept coming back. Tears started to stream out from my eyes,

"Oh jeeze, now look Kathy, you made her cry," Owen sounded frustrated.

"I'm sorry! Hikari!" Kathy was upset.

"Let's just get to her to the clinic, she probably has a fever," Owen sighed and Kathy nodded.

The clinic door shot open,

"Jin, I have a very… violent patient for you here," Owen said, looking down at me, waiting for me to start struggling again. I must have been trying to fight him off when he interrupted my dream. If the room wasn't spinning I'm sure I would have felt embarrassed.

"What happened?" A heard an unfamiliar voice say, I assumed it was the doctor… Jin, Owen had called him.

"Kathy bust into the bar, screaming and yelling about how Hikari was dead," Owen tried not to laugh,

"Shut up!" Kathy punched his arm,

"Do you _want _me to drop Hikari or something?" Owen looked over at the little blonde who just crossed her arms and pouted

"You can put her down here," Jin led us to a hospital bed where Owen placed me down softly,

"Thanks," I breathed. Owen smiled down at me; suddenly Kathy was standing beside me, fretting,

"She has a fever and it's really high, I don't know what she was doing outside," She had her hand on my forehead, suddenly she slammed her head into my chest, "Heart beat is strong though, don't worry!"

"Uh… Ow…" I managed to say. Jin smiled at her,

"Thanks Kathy, but I think what would be helpful is if you told me what happened," his was being very patient with her.

"Hmmm?" she said, finally lifting her head off my chest. Owen moaned,

"Dear lord woman, tell Jin what happened or Hikari _will _die. Or I will, of boredom." Kathy shot him a dirty look, then turned her big green eyes towards Jin,

"I was on my way to work, to the bar, that's where I work,"

"He _knows that,_" Owen rolled his eyes,

"Right, so I was running because it was really rainy out, it still is I mean, but yeah, well I saw someone lying on the ground by the beach and I thought it was probably just Toby or Yuuki or someone trying to scare me but when I came over it was Hikari, she was just lying there, curled up in a ball. I thought she was dead! Luckily Owen was around and we brought her here," Kathy looked at me again, worried. _Did all that really happen..?_ Then it all came back to me. Gill. I was running, I just needed to run away, but then the storm hit… I slipped on the ground and lay there for a long time…

"I see," Jin said pensively, "Well Hikari, do you remember what happened?"

"No," I lied, "I must have worked till I passed out" I could feel my eyelids closing,

"Hmm," Jin tapped his clipboard, "You must be careful not to overdo it, Yuuki used to end up in here once a week when he first arrived," Jin massaged his temples, "Please don't make me live through all _that_ again."

"I won't," I smiled, "I'm sorry." Then I closed my eyes and let sleep cover me.

Kathy's POV

"So," I asked, "Is she going to be alright?"

"Yes, she'll be fine," Jin replied smiling, he looked at the clipboard and walked up the stairs of his clinic. I sighed, relieved but couldn't bring myself to leave Hikari; I looked at her lying there… had she really just collapsed? I remembered what Owen said before…

"_She wouldn't have collapsed on the beach, without a fishing rod or anything… People don't just do that"_ He was right… Just then, the doors of the clinic burst open,

"Where is she?" Gill asked, pushing his dripping hair away off of his face. He was completely soaked, the anxiety in his voice was reflected on his face, "Chase told me you found her outside?" he ran over beside Hikari and stared down at her intensely. I had never seen him like this; usually he was so serious and boring, but he seemed… concerned, and why was he soaking wet? I mean we were damp but he was… drenched. What was with him? I thought he hated her. From the way he spoke about her at the bar that one night it sure sounded like it…

"Yeah… I did but…" I tried to say

"Why do you look like a drowned rat?" Owen interrupted me and I was glad he had. He knew me well enough that when I didn't know what to say he'd take over. Gill didn't respond, "Hello? Did you hear me?" Owen started again, getting annoyed. This was bad, I didn't want Owen to start a fight with Gill right now, but I knew he probably would.

"I heard you." Gill sounded intense, but not sarcastic like usual. He turned around from Hikari to face Owen, but kept his head down.

"Well then?" Owen waited for his response.

"I was looking for her," Gill finally said, his hands were balled up into fists at his sides and he was trembling. His hair hid his face completely. I felt sad for him all of the sudden and hoped Owen wouldn't do something stupid….

"And _why_ were you looking for her?" Owen hissed, the anger in his voice was tangible… so the whole wish about him not doing something stupid was out.

"Owen…" I said, trying to calm him down

"Why were you looking for her?" Owen said again, this time much louder. Gill was screwed.

"Because it's my fault," Gill whispered. With that Owen picked up Gill by the collar and ran him into the wall. He hit it with a large BANG and Owen held him there. I stood to my feet,

"Owen! What the hell! Put him down!" time to crack skulls, "You don't even know if he did anything to her!"

"Oh I know," Owen growled, "Look how guilty he is!" I stopped and stared at the two, Owen was right… but then… what had Gill done?

"What is going _on?" _Jin was standing at the bottom of the stairs, a look of utter surprised on his face.

"Why don't you ask Gillian here?" Owen spat. Gill just hung there, limp in Owens hands, completely defeated. He wasn't even trying. Maybe it was because he knew he'd lose? I doubted it. Gill stood up to Owen every other time…

"Owen…" Hikari was awake, and looking at them, a pained expression on her face, "Please…" she whispered drowsily.

**~Ooooh everything sucks, Hikari is sick, people are crazy! Let me know what you thought ;D next chapter will be up asap. ~**


	6. Chapter 6, Kinda nice

**Alright, Chapter 6, hopefully the wait was worth it ;D I hope you guys like it, let me know what you think by reviewing :) I love it when you guys do!**

Hikari's POV

I awoke with a start to a large bang. My head hurt and my clothes were still wet, _where am I? _I blinked twice and looked around the white room: the clinic.

"Oh I know," I heard Owen say, "Look how guilty he is!" I looked up and saw Kathy, facing Owen, I couldn't quite read the look on her face, but she was definitely distressed.

"What is going _on?" _The doctor said, standing the bottom of the stairs. The tone of his voice scared me, he sounded just as distressed as Kathy looked. What _were _they looking at anyway? My eyes wondered over to Owen once more. I now realized he was pinning someone against the wall. My eyesight was blurry; I knew I must have had a bad fever because of it. I squinted to see who it was,

"Why don't you ask Gillian here?" Owen roared. _Gillian? Gill. _Owen was holding him so his feet weren't touching the floor; I could make out his white-blonde hair. His clothes were just as wet as mine were. Owen had Gills shoulders jammed firmly against the wall, holding him with his right forearm. His left arm was pushing against the wall, keeping himself upright. Gill wasn't struggling at all. He just hung there. Was he dead? Suddenly my heart started beating faster, Gill… I didn't want him to get hurt… All the thoughts of what he had said to me earlier that day rushed into my mind, but I couldn't help but push them aside. I reached a heavy arm towards them,

"Owen…" I managed to breathe, "Please…" Kathy turned to face me and Jin rushed to the side of my bed, Gill looked up, and the look in his Ice Blue eyes made me want to cry. He was in pain, but not because of Owen,

"Please beat the crap out of him? Or please kill him?" Owen asked, his cold gaze staying on Gill,

"Please… don't hurt him," My head felt heavy and my eyes burned, they begged me for sleep. I was breathing deeply and it hurt to speak… but I couldn't give in yet. Owen finally looked over at me, incredulous.

"Didn't he do this to you?" He sounded genuinely concerned. I shook my head,

"No… well yes… but no." It was hard to say what I wanted to. Owen loosened his grip on Gill and I heard his feet hit the floor. I sighed in relief, but Owen was still holding him.

"Owen! Let him go damn it! You're hurting Hikari even more right now." Kathy advanced on Owen, tearing his arms off of Gill, "Let her sleep, beat him up later when she's awake to see it, okay?" Kathy was now holding Owen's arm affectionately. I smiled up at her, I was really glad I had a friend like her around.

"Owen, if you can't calm down I'm going to have to ask you to leave," Jin finally spoke, as he brought a cup of thick liquid to my mouth, "Hikari needs to sleep and you're causing her unneeded stress. Her fever is worsening," he looked concerned. I swallowed the medicine and cringed a little, I always hated the taste of it.

"Fine," Owen breathed, staring down at Gill, "But one word from anyone, and you're toast," He moved forward aggressively but Gill didn't even flinch, he was still staring down at me, the hurt expression never leaving his eyes.

"Okay," Gill said flatly, Owen looked disappointed,

"I'm going to go bring Hikari dry clothes," Kathy looked up at Owen, obviously trying to change the subject,

"That's wonderful, thank you Kathy, I was just about to call Anissa to see if she would but if you can that would be much more convenient," Jin smiled at Kathy, visibly happy she was here to calm Owen down,

"No problem, Hikari's my friend, I don't' want her to die," She winked at me and then turned to Owen, "Come with me?" It was silent for a moment before Owen looked down at the little blonde cowgirl and smiled his big goofy smile,

"Yeah, okay," He wiggled his arm out of Kathy's and offered her his hand. She blushed but shyly took it anyway. I smiled as they walked out,

"I'll be right back Hikari!" I smiled knowing everything would be alright and let myself sleep once again.

I rolled over in my warm bed, letting myself cuddle deeper into the soft, fluffy covers. I sighed and tossed again: something was off. A light draft blew across me and I shivered. I reached around for another blanket and my hand caught something fabric. I tugged on it, trying to bring it closer to me: it was a lot heavier than I expected so instead I moved towards the fabric. I nuzzled my face into it: It was so warm, and smelt amazing. I breathed it in deeply and reached out again, I wasn't expecting the soft chuckle I heard. My eyes shot open and I realized my face was buried in someone's chest, who was sitting beside my bed; my hand was knotted in a slightly unbuttoned dress shirt. I let go quickly and tried to pull myself backwards, but slipped and almost fell,

"Careful!" Gill said, catching me and gently lifting me back into my warm covers, "Wow Jin's medicine really does work fast…" he was talking to himself.

"What are you doing in my house?" I sat up, staring at him. He pursed his lips and gazed at me, as if waiting for me to realize something. I glanced around the room,

"What the… this isn't my house…" I said, puzzled, "And these aren't my clothes!" I picked at the warm, flannel, pink PJs I was wearing.

"Kathy," Gill said, smiling slightly, "Your other clothes were soaked," His smile was replaced with a grim expression. Then it all came back: The storm, the clinic, Owen, Gill, "Gill?" I said a little louder then I meant to. He jumped and then stood up,

"What? Do you want something?" He started walking towards the kitchen area of the room. I stared after him,

"Your clothes are dry too!"

"Yeah," he said exasperated, "I went home quickly and changed," he was walking towards the kitchen again,

"Do you want something or not?"

"No," I said, watching him suspiciously, "Why are you here?" He froze mid-step and I saw his hands ball up into tight fists, he lowered his head. It was a few moments before he spoke.

"I need to make sure you're alright," I could almost hear his blush from the tone of his voice. We were silent for a few moments before he turned to me again, "Are you? I mean… Are you alright?" His eyes were filled with the same pain I had seen earlier… _What happened… it seems like a dream now… _It came back to me in bits and pieces,

"Owen!" I shouted. Gill jumped, obviously not expecting my sudden outburst. He looked around, I assumed for Owen, seeing as I had just yelled his name, "Are _you _okay?" I said, pulling the blankets off of me,

"My name is Gill actually…" he teased lightly,

"Shut up, I'm caring about you, you should care that I care okay?" I swung my legs out of bed and tried to stand, but wobbled and started to collapse. Gill darted back and caught me, gracefully lifting me back into bed,

"Would you stop that?" he asked, a familiar frustration back in his voice. I reached up and brushed Gills cheek with the ends of my fingertips, _what am I doing? I hate this guy… I think…_

"Are you okay?" I asked again, not able to help myself. He blushed deeply and moved away from my hand, staring intently at the floor,

"W-why are you worried about me…" Gill stammered, "I'm not weak you know…"

"Sorry," I said, biting my lip. The room spun a little and I lay back down in bed, closing my eyes tightly, "Ugh," I moaned. I felt a warm hand on my forehead and opened my eyes to see Gill frowning down at me,

"You should get some sleep, it's pretty late, and your fever is still pretty high," He still had a slight blush to his cheeks and I couldn't help but smile. He sat down on the chair placed next to my bed and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Wait," I suddenly realized, "Where is Jin? What time is it?"

"Jin went home, to bed. I told him I'd stay and make sure you were okay," He looked away again, "It's two in the morning," he said quietly.

"Two?" I gaped, "You don't have to stay! Wait… why _did _you stay?" My eyes narrowed as I looked at the boy who had earlier broken me into a thousand pieces. The boy who made me remember everything I wished I didn't. The boy who knew my secret, the _only one _who knew my past: he was silent.

"I'm sorry," he breathed, still not looking up at me, "I'm so sorry." He hunched over, his body shaking slightly, one hand covered his face while the other rested gently on the bed _is he crying? _I wondered. I watched him for a long time, deciding what do to. I sat up slowly, kneeling now, and took his free hand in mine. He looked up at me, his face only inches away from mine; his icy eyes were glossy and brimming with tears making them all the more striking. "I'm sorry," He said again. I couldn't help it; I threw my arms around him and hugged him tightly. _Stupid, stupid, stupid,_ I thought to myself, _you hate this boy, you hate him! Who cares if he cries… who cares if he's sorry… _I found myself hugging him tighter, and when I felt his arms wrap around me, I couldn't help but smile.

"It's okay," I soothed, "I'm okay."

He pushed me back and looked at my face, ensuring I wasn't lying. His eyes were back to normal, sceptical, frustrated.

"How is that even possible," he pushed me gently back until I was sitting on my bed, looking at him again. He pulled the blankets back over me,

"Your parents…" he stood up and turned away from me. Now it was my turn, I felt the hot tears start to pour out of my eyes,

"Yeah," was all I managed to say. Gill turned around and slowly took my head in his hands, wiping away my tears with his thumbs,

"My mom…" he breathed, "She died when I was little," He looked ashamed, and let go of me, sitting back down into the chair, resting his elbows on his knees and staring down at the floor, "I know this is a stupid thing to say, but… I know how you feel. And I know I was an ass, and I know you have every right to not forgive me… but…" he looked up at me, "A part of me really, really hopes you will."

I smiled through my tears and nodded. Gill smiled up at me, "Now," he said walking over to another hospital bed, "It's really time for you to go to sleep."

"Yeah," I smiled, "Oh… and… sorry for head-butting your chest earlier…" I blushed, but he blushed back before looking down at the floor again,

"Oh… that's okay," he said, "It was… kinda nice… anyway! Goodnight!" He flushed again and then flicked off the lights.

"Goodnight," I giggled, which made my head spin, so I lay down, welcoming sleep once more.

_Yeah _I thought to myself, _it was kinda nice._

**Ohhh GillxHikari moments, so full of drama and angst. Working on next chapter, don't forget to review: let me know what you thought :) **


	7. Chapter 7, Well this is Awkward

**Here it is in all it's glory: Chapter seven! (O M G) :P Thanks for all your great reviews :D they inspire me to write faster, knowing people are waiting for me to :) Love you guys! Keep it up!**

I stretched and sat up slowly, blinking the sleep out of my eyes. The sun was shining in the clinic and I sighed, not knowing what today would bring. I hoped I was better: I couldn't neglect my farm. My crops needed watering and the unnamed calf needed to be taken care of. Plus it was my own fault I was in here, I was the one who ran until I collapsed and then lay there in the rain, getting sicker and sicker. I fell backwards into bed and sighed again, this time more dramatically.

"Feeling any better?" Jin was scribbling something down on a clip board and didn't look up when he spoke.

"Much," I smiled, _if I pull this off right, he'll let me out of here early. He just needs to think I'm one hundred percent better, _"In fact, I feel great!" I sat up and smiled at him.

"Oh really?" it was an elderly lady that spoke now, she entered the room, hands on her hips, an unbelieving look on her face, "You know, I wasn't born yesterday my dear, and that Yuuki fellow sure tried to get out of here when he still needed to recover. Lord knows that boy is in a constant state of over-doing it," She adjusted her shawl and Jin laughed quietly to himself,

"Hikari, this is Irene, she's my grandmother and a great physician." He said, finally looking up from his work and smiling at her. He obviously cared very much for her.

"It's great to meet you," I smiled, "But really, I feel really great… Really I do," I lied. She gave me a look,

"How did you sleep then?" she asked walking over to my bed,

"Really good, well I woke up once but… wait! Where's…" I trailed off, suddenly blushing,

"Where's who? Oh Young mister Hamilton? Yes he stepped out for a moment," she chuckled, "Don't worry, he'll be back soon, he promised me he'd check in on you." She winked at me and then walked slowly over to the stove, preparing some herb tea. I couldn't help but blush deeper, _who cares if he comes back? I don't that's for sure… _I couldn't help but smile to myself. Irene walked over to my bed and handed me a steaming mug,

"Drink this," she instructed, "It will help with the dizziness,"

"Thanks," I smiled, "So… you're really not going to let me leave yet are you?"

"Not a chance," Jin interjected, "If you don't get better now, you'll just have to come back for a longer period of time next time." He was right, of course. I sighed and sipped the tea. Just then the door slowly opened and Kathy stepped in,

"Hikari!" she squealed, skipping to my bedside, "Are you feeling better?"

"Yes I am, but I'm a bit worried about my farm right now…" I pursed my lips. Irene and Jin were talking about medicine as they walked out up stairs to check on something.

"Why don't you call Renee or Yuuki? I'm sure they'd be happy to take care if it today, I mean, they'd totally understand why you needed their help," She smiled down at me encouragingly.

"Or both…" I thought aloud, and then snapped my fingers and grinned at her mischievously, "I have a great idea,"

"About your farm?" She looked down at me, puzzled,

"Including it," I grinned again, "pass me the phone," Kathy handed me it, still wondering what I was up to. I punched Renee's number into phone; it rang twice before she answered it cheerfully,

"Hello?"

"Renee! Hi it's me Hikari, look, I collapsed last night in the rain and… well I'm really sick today, I hate to ask but… could you take care of my farm today?"

"What? Are you okay?" She sounded very concerned,

"Yeah, I'll be fine, but Irene and Jin won't let me out of here until they know I'm better," I explained,

"Of course, and yeah, sure it's no problem at all! I'll go over today and make sure everything is Okay, don't worry, just rest up!"

"Will do! And thanks so much," I was really happy she was so willing to do that for me, I smiled to myself as we said goodbye and then looked back up at Kathy, "Phase one: complete."

"What are you planning Hikari," she now grinned mischievously as I flipped to the page in the phone book with Yuuki's number written on it. I punched in his number and had a very similar conversation with him, not telling him that I had already asked Renee. I grinned as I hung up the phone,

"Hikari, you are a romantic genius." Kathy seemed to be in awe, "I've been trying to make those two do something together for _ages_, and just like that, BANG, you pull it off." She clapped her hands; "You're my favourite!" she hugged me tightly and giggled. I grinned,

"Circumstances aligned I guess," I winked and giggled along with her. Suddenly, the door to the clinic shot open, and a flash of blue hair and flaming bandana raced inside,

"OH MY GOSH, HIKARI!" Luke was suddenly kneeling at my bed, he had pushed Kathy out of the way, "ARE YOU OKAY?" he grabbed my hand in his and looked at me intensely, concern painted all over his face.

"Luke! What the heck? Don't just push people out of the way!" Kathy stomped her foot, and slapped the back of Luke's head. He didn't seem to notice, he was still staring at me,

"Chase told me you collapsed?"

"Jeeze, does Chase tell everyone, everything when I'm not around?" Kathy mumbled to herself, walking to the sink and pouring herself a glass of water.

"Hikari! Say something!" He was frantic now as I stared down at him in confusion,

"I'm… fine," I smiled, "Just a little fever…" _why was he suddenly so concerned? _He sighed in relief and most of the tension left his face,

"You have to be more careful! You could have gotten really sick!"

"Are you scolding me?" I asked, amused.

"Yes!" he stood up, "If no one else is going to protect you, I will!" He punched the air triumphantly,

"Uh, I was the one who found her, idiot," Kathy said placing her glass on the table, "And Owen carried her here, and Gill stayed with her too!" She sounded annoyed,

"But none of you protected her from this happening in the first place," Luke was suddenly intense, "And now she's sick!"

"I'm fine, I—"

"No you're not!" He interrupted me, "You have to rest, stay in bed, if you were okay you'd be doing something great: Like farming!" He still looked concerned,

"It's just a little fever, I—"

"A fever?" Luke asked, contemplatively

"Yeah I—" Suddenly, Luke placed his hands on my shoulders softly, his face was only inches away from my own, and he slowly placed is forehead squarely against mine. His eyes were closed, and he looked thoughtful. I blushed; his face was so close to mine… It was uncomfortable. I heard the clinic door open,

"Hikari are you awake? I was hoping you'd feel well enough to—" Gill froze, I assumed because of what he saw. I'm sure it must have looked like Luke either had, or was just about to kiss me. I pushed him away, the blush still evidently on my cheeks.

"Hmm," Luke said, not noticing… or maybe just not caring about Gill's entrance, "Fever doesn't seem too bad to me," he looked down at me and smiled but my gaze was fixed on Gill, who stared at me for a second and then looked away. What was his expression? Hurt? Ashamed? Angry? I couldn't tell at all.

"Well this is awkward," Kathy said rocking back on her heels, smiling slightly. Gill didn't say anything; he just turned and started walking back towards the door,

"Oh, hey Gill," Luke said cheerfully, finally noticing him, "What's up?" Gill turned back around for a second, looked at Luke, and then walked out of the clinic, slamming the door behind him. His expression had stayed cold and frozen the entire time.

"What was that about I wonder," Kathy said, grinning to herself, picking up her glass and talking a sip of water,

"That guys such a jerk, no wonder Owen and him are always fighting," Luke thought aloud, but then shrugged, "Anyway Hikari, your fever isn't that bad. Hikari, are you listening to me?" I heard Luke but I was still staring at the last place Gill was standing. _Why did he leave like that? _I felt sick, but not because of my fever. Luke waved his hand in front of my face, "Hellooo?"

"Yeah, sorry, I heard you," I smiled weakly, "I think I need some sleep… I still feel pretty sick…"

"Luke, get out," Kathy was stern, but playful at the same time,

"Oh! Sorry! Hikari, get better, I'll come visit you soon okay? I'll stop by your ranch tomorrow, you'll be better by then and we can hang out or something?" He seemed very enthusiastic, "I'm looking forward to it!" He grinned widely and waved at me, "Bye-bye!"

"Bye Luke, I'll see you tomorrow." I waved back half-heartedly, but it didn't seem to disappoint him, he just smiled wider and then walked out. Once the door closed I heard a faint, but unmistakable,

"Yaaaahooo!"

Kathy sauntered over to my bed, a very amused grin on her face,

"So," She said, "You like Gill, huh?"

"No! I…"

"Sure, sure" she waved, but her grin only got bigger.

"S-shut up," I said blushing. I buried my face in my hands,

"Awh! That's so cute!" Kathy giggled happily, "I mean… I don't really know what you see in Gill… But I trust your judgement,"

"I don't even like him, we're friends. That's it, just friends. I could never like someone like him…"

"Hmm," Kathy thought aloud, "I understand that." We were silent for a few moments before she spoke again, "Hikari?"

"Yeah?" I said, exasperated, but when I looked up at her, her face was filled with concern,

"Be careful… I don't know what Gill did to you yesterday… why you were collapsed in the rain but… Don't let that happen again. Everyone is really worried about you… Colleen and everyone at the bar, Chase, Owen, Luke… I'm sure Renee and Yuuki are too," She trailed off,

"Kathy," I said flatly, "I'm fine… Gill… yesterday he…" I wanted to tell her everything: about my family, the fire, my past… even about _him_. The one no one could know about, but instead a sob escaped from my lips. I could feel the tears coming down my face again. I was so tired of crying…

"Hikari," Kathy hugged me, "I will kill him, I will kick his ass and then I'll sick Owen on him, just tell me to and it's done hunny I swear, I'm sure Luke and Chase will be in on it too I mean everyone—"

"No," I breathed, "It's not Gill, I, I..." And then I _did _tell her everything. I told her my story, the whole story. The fire, my parents, and even all about him, the one no one could know about. I told her about Kurt.

**Gasp! Kathy knows everything now, and you will too, soon ;D The next chapter will be more of Hikari's past, but will it catch up with her? Wait and see ;) Don't forget to review, love you guys!**


	8. Chapter 8, The Past

**the long awaited 'character history' chapter is finally here! Questions being answered! Mysteries being solved! Hope you enjoy :)**

I couldn't see anything through the black smoke. I coughed heavily as I fumbled around the burning barn, I could hear my horse neighing wildly as I approached it. The sounds of distressed animals were loud as I steered the bucking horse towards the door. I knew it would make it out okay, I hoped the other animals would follow. I made me way deeper into the barn,

"Mom! Dad!" I called, "Where are you?" I coughed again and swayed, I was dizzy and it was hard to stay awake. I could feel my body becoming weak, but I couldn't give up, "Where are you?"

"Hikari!" I could hear a male voice, _Daddy?_

"Dad! Daddy I hear you! Where are you?" I walked in deeper and bumped into something, falling to the ground. The crackling of the fire was loud, the wooden beams collapsing around all around filled me with fear, but I had to find my parents. I heard myself whimper.

"Hikari? Where are you?" The voice again,

"I'm going to save you Dad! Tell me where you are!" I could barely speak, I coughed again and felt my eyelids closing, I couldn't move, I couldn't stand up.

"Hikari," The voice breathed, I looked up and saw a figure standing over me, "Shit," he said, pulling me into his arms and running towards the door of the barn,

"Dad?" I looked up at the figure,

"No," He said flatly, "It's me, Kurt," He held me close as he dodged a falling rafter; it sent glowing red embers towards us as it crashed the ground. He swore loudly and starting running towards the exit again,

"Kurt?" I said, processing what I already knew,

"I'm getting you out of here Hikari," He said with intensity,

"NO!" I screamed, fighting his grip, "No! My parents! They're in here, my mom! My dad! Let go!" I struggled with all my might,

"Hikari! Stop that!" We got outside and I broke free of his arms, trying to sprint back into the building. He caught my arm and spun me around, "Are you insane?"

"They're going to die!" I was frantic as I twisted my arm in his hand, shaking, trying to get back into the barn. I broke free once more and starting running,

"Stop it! You don't know what you're doing!" He roared, tackling me down on the ground,

"Please!" I begged, spinning myself over. He pinned down my arms, straddling my stomach, holding me to the ground; my legs kicked fruitlessly.

"Do you want to die too?" He spat. I froze and stared into his brown eyes, I could feel the tears fall over my eyelids and his expression softened,

"They're my parents…" I trailed off, and relaxed my body in defeat. Kurt didn't move, he continued to hold me down,

"I'm sorry," Was all he could say.

The whole island had seen the smoke, obviously, and it seemed like everyone was there, either to watch in horror or help. Kurt wouldn't budge no matter how I begged and pleaded. Blue, the normally taciturn rancher next door who I had grown up thinking I would marry started barking out commands to the others as they carried buckets from the well, splashing the building in a feeble attempt to stop the fire. Bob the muscular boy who collected shipped goods and Kurt's brother Joe were doing most of the work as they doused the large flames. I saw Gwen comforting the horse I had managed to lead to safety, but nothing else: no other animals, no mother, and no father. I watched in horror as different groups of people tried to enter the building but they were overpowered by smoke and flames. They couldn't put the fire out fast enough, and it soon spread to my home, consuming it as well.

"Let me go…" I pleaded, "Don't make me watching this…" I sobbed, trying to turn away from the destruction all around me,

"You'll just run back in there," Kurt said coldly, still holding me down,

"Please…" I begged. Alex the doctor hurried over,

"Kurt, let her go," he said, bending down over me,

"No," he growled up at Alex,

"She could have bad smoke inhalation," he tried to explain, touching my forehead. Kurt let go of one of my arms to slap Alex's hand away,

"Don't touch her!" he spat,

"Hey. Relax man," Joe was suddenly standing over us, "He's not trying to hit on her: he's trying to save her life! Let her up!" Joe reasoned harshly with his brother. Kurt stared at everyone for a few seconds before letting go of my hands and standing up. I slowly sat up, not wanting to be pinned again. My entire body hurt and I was still lightheaded. I couldn't look up from the ground; I couldn't look at the total destruction all around me. My eyelids became heavy,

"Well, stand up then!" I could hear Kurt's annoyance and tried feebly to stand,

"What has gotten into you?" I could hear Joe questioning his brother, "Do you understand what she's just lost? Can you relax? I haven't seen you like this in forever! Cool it!" Joe was inches away from his brother's face before he shoved him, obviously trying to calm him down. Kurt's hands turned into fists,

"Shut the hell up!" he yelled pushing his brother back, but much harder. Joe fell to the ground. I couldn't keep my eyes opened any longer, I felt my body collapse.

I had been staying in the clinic, Alex had been watching over me closely. I didn't want to go outside; I couldn't walk out of the building. Everything was different now, and the entire island brought back memories of things I couldn't bear to remember. For three days I lay in bed staring at the ceiling, feeling the tears pour from my eyes and dropping into my ears and hair. I wouldn't say a word to anyone, I couldn't speak: I felt like I didn't remember how. The mayor, Theodore had shown up to drop off the inheritance money my parents had locked away. He placed it on the desk and offered his condolences, but I couldn't look at him. A few more days slipped by after that.

"Hikari?" I heard a familiar voice, "I'm worried." I knew it was my childhood best friend. The quiet rancher, whose baseball cap almost always covered his eyes. Blue was standing at my bedside, but I couldn't take my eyes off of the ceiling. "I'm sorry that this happened," I could tell he was struggling for words: frankness was a quality I quite liked about Blue, but now it was apparent he was just as lost as I was. I breathed in deeply,

"Yes," was all I managed to say.

"Yes?" He stepped closer to me, I could see he wasn't wearing his hat today, "Hikari, they were a second family to me, you know that. I miss them." He paused, "I miss you. I don't trust Kurt, why won't he let you talk to anyone ever?" I sat up abruptly,

"_Kurt?_" I hissed, "You're worried about _Kurt_?" He stared at me and then simply nodded,

"Yes," he replied, completely serious,

"My family is dead; everything they ever worked for is gone: it's GONE. And you're worried about Kurt?"

"He beat the shit out of Joe." He stared at me, his expression blank. His frankness had returned,

"What?" I breathed. Joe and Kurt were best friends… They were the only family they had left. They needed each other, "Why?"

"Kurt is not who you think he is Hikari," Blue said, "The quiet kid has a temper: a bad temper." I lay back down and stared at the ceiling once more. Blue sighed, "Do what you have to do," he turned, "And Hikari… I'm…" He paused for a moment, "I'm marrying Ann," I didn't move. The little red head inventor… Blue had liked her for years; I knew he was going to propose soon. Normally I'd be happy, but right then I didn't care,

"Good," I muttered.

That night I went back to my old house. I walked through the rubble, collecting anything I could. It was cold but I didn't want to wear a coat, all I could remember was the flames and the heat and the smoke. The cold was welcomed. I knew Gwen had my horse, and when I wanted it back I could just go get it. I felt sick walking through my old, now broken memories.

"It's late," I heard Kurt say from behind me, "Why are you back here?"

"I needed to see what was left," I breathed, turning to face him. His spikey brown hair stood straight up in perfect points. His Camo print headband tied neatly half way up his forehead. He leaned against a tree, his axe propped against his shoulder. He must have been working when I came by.

"There's not much," he said, pushing himself up from the tree and walking towards me, there was something off about him, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

"I'm sorry," I said, "That I fought you…" I was holding back tears and stared at the ground,

"Yeah," He said, still coming closer to me, "It was dumb of you," I couldn't tell if he was joking or angry, but it didn't seem to matter,

"But you… you should have let me save them!" I suddenly shouted, staring up at him. He was only a foot away from me. He stopped walking,

"What did you say?"

"I said you should have let me save them! They're dead now!" I screamed at him, tears now pouring down my face,

"I saved your life!" He roared, throwing his axe down on the ground, "A simple 'Thank You' would be nice!"

"You let them die!" I approached him, "And why is Joe all messed up now Kurt?" I was so angry… I knew Kurt had saved me, I knew it wasn't his fault they were dead… but I couldn't hold in my rage anymore.

"Joe?" He hissed down at me, his body becoming tense and shaking slightly, "Joe's an idiot that's why, he doesn't know when to shut his mouth, a lot like a little orphan farm girl I know," he growled. Before I knew what I was doing I swung my arm. We stood in silence from the loud _SLAP_. My hand burned and his face was turned downwards from the impact. I couldn't believe my ears; _did he really just say that? _Kurt raised his head, fury in his eyes. I stepped back instinctively: I had never seen him look like that before. The brown eyes that were usually filled with understanding now burned with hate.

"Kurt I—" I was cut off by an uppercut me in the stomach. I crumpled over in pain and gasped, trying to breathe. He swung again, this time the back of his hand meeting my face. The loud sound of the impact resonated in the still night. I could taste blood. I wanted to scream but I couldn't find my voice. I fell onto the ground

"I warned you!" he shouted, his foot coming down hard on my leg, "Is 'Thank You' so hard?" He bellowed bringing his foot down again. I whimpered, curling into a ball. His breath was loud and heavy as he turned and walked away, "You're not even worth it," he muttered.

Kathy hugged me tightly,

"Hikari, that's terrible!" she said, pulling me back and measuring my expression, "So then… you just left?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said wiping away the tears that seemed to be plastered to my face, "There was nothing left for me there. I couldn't live like that any longer," I explained.

"You shouldn't have had to at all!" she was now angry, but not at me, "That's terrible! That man is terrible!" She paused for a moment, "So then, no one knows where you went? No one knows you're here?"

"No one. It took me two different boats to get here and most of the people from my old island will never leave it, so I'm okay," I stopped and steadied my breathing, "And it doesn't matter… I just needed to leave behind the memories…" I looked down at the sheets of the clinic bed, and Kathy hugged me again,

"I'm really sorry Hikari, I really am," She said earnestly,

"Thanks," I mumbled.

We sat there for a long time, until Jin came down and told me I was healthy enough to go back home, but Kathy insisted I stay with her at the Inn that night. I didn't want to be alone… I couldn't be alone after finally revealing everything: so I agreed.

**Gahhh finally done. Sorry this one took a while to update: to be honest I didn't really like writing it ;P but I hope you guys liked it! Don't forget to Review! They make me smile and dance. Loove you guys :)**


	9. Chapter 9, Nightlife at the Bar

**Well, that was fast. Go me! I wasn't going to update as quickly, but again, I felt encouraged by my lovely, lovely reviews :D Thanks guys! Hope you like this one: **

I couldn't sleep. Of course I couldn't sleep, I had just spent the last few days tearing out the mental stitches I had been so delicately threading through my past. I was almost done the healing process when just like that, Gill had shown up and tugged on the loose thread, reopening my wounds. That being said, I was undoubtedly the one who finished the job; opening up to Kathy like that was stupid, but I admit it was also the relief I'd been longing for since my arrival here. I sighed heavily and tossed in bed: not my bed, Kathy had convinced me (with minimal objection I might add) to spend the night in the Inn. She knew as well as I that I couldn't be alone after all that, but now I couldn't sleep. I could hear muffled voices from below me: the bar was still opened. I wasn't sure what time it was, but I was quite sure it was rather late. I sat up, placing my bare feet on the cool floorboards. My mind was going much too fast to even consider sleep. I rubbed my face roughly as I stood; grabbing my sweater, I headed downstairs to the bar. The conversations and laughter grew louder as I made my way tenderly down the stairs. My eyes scanned the room and stopped on a white blonde sitting hunched over at the bar, _of course, of course I run in to him. _I winced and then turned, hoping to escape back upstairs without detection,

"Hikari!" Owen boomed, _Damn it_. I fixed my scowl into a smile before turning around,

"Owen, hey," I tried to sound happy to see him. He stumbled over to me and threw one beefy arm around my shoulders,

"Kathy told me you were sleeping!" he then tried to whisper, but it came out slurred and rather loud, "I'm not allowed to wake you up," I could smell the alcohol on his breath as he laughed,

"She _was_ sleeping, idiot," Kathy marched over to us, a tray of drinks in one hand. With her free hand she removed Owen's arm and led him back over to the bar, "Sorry Hikari, I told my dad to cut him off a while ago, but," she sighed, obviously exhausted, "Owen and him are like, buddies now I guess," She made an exasperated gesture and hurried to a table where a light blue haired boy leaned causally back in his chair, a fishing pole balancing on the table. Yuuki was sitting with him as well, but his head was buried in his hands. The bar was a lot busier than I thought it would be this late at night. I stood awkwardly at the bottom of the stairs, still debating going back up or staying,

"You know," the peach haired chef said, leaning out of the kitchen, "I made something especially delicious tonight Hikari, you'll hurt my feelings if you don't try it," he winked at me and waved me over to an empty table. I smiled up at him gratefully, and sat down. He presented a plate with spaghetti covered in pesto, I felt my stomach grumble: I hadn't eaten a lot the past few days,

"Thanks Chase," I said beaming, "It looks amazing,"

"It is," he said nonchalantly, shrugging, "Yolanda taught me how to make it today, she's the best so soon I'll be the best," he stood looking down at me, waiting for me try it. I brought a forkful to my mouth and chewed it slowly,

"Oh my gosh, Chase, this is the best!" I wasn't lying; it was probably one of the most delicious things I had ever eaten in my life. He beamed at my compliment and bowed dramatically,

"Thank you, thank you," he laughed and walked back into the kitchen, leaving me alone once more. I could feel Gills gaze on me, but I refused to look up from my plate. Was he still mad about seeing Luke and me like that? I couldn't' help but remember the look on his face. He had left without saying a word. I wanted Gill to talk to me, but at the same time I wasn't sure if I could handle it. I hastily took another bite, letting the taste blur out all the memories. I looked up to see the girl I assumed was Maya: her short blonde hair with a braid down either side that bounced with each step matched the description Kathy had given me of her co-worker. Her bubble dress clung nicely to her lean body. She walked past me, and then stopped suddenly turning,

"Is that Grandma Yolanda's super delicious, extra amazing, mouthwatering pesto spaghetti?" She walked slowly back to my table,

"Um… well I don't know: Chase gave it to me?" I looked up at her big eyes, staring down at the food in front of me,

"Chase?" She suddenly focused on my face, her head cocking to the side,

"Y-yeah" I stammered,

"He made this?" She pointed at the plate,

"I believe so, I—" I was interrupted by a storm of giggles and shouting as she ran into the kitchen,

"Chaaaase! I want some! I want some, you didn't tell me you made this!" She bounded into the kitchen, and I couldn't help but imagine little hearts floating up all around her, "Ohhhh, so delicious! Chasey, Chasey, you're so amazing!"

"Get away you horrible blob!" I could hear Chase shouting at her, it sounded like he was either trying to escape her grasp or protect of his food,

"Come on, just one little, tiny, insie-winsie bit?" I knew she was pouting,

"No! Go away!"

I couldn't help but chuckle to myself, eating another forkful. I could still hear them bickering when Yuuki walked up to my table,

"Are you feeling better?" he said quietly, staring at the ground.

"Yes, completely," I lied, smiling at him,

"Good, Um… I wanted to say thanks I guess," he blushed scratching the back of his head,

"Thanks? For what? I should be saying thank you to you! For looking after my farm!" I knew what he was trying to say, but played along anyway,

"No… I uh… I mean… for… you know… Renee and me… and… well," I burst out laughing; I knew Yuuki wasn't usually like this and seeing him so lovesick was especially amusing.

"Ooh, that," I winked, "No problem," I grinned as he blushed deeper.

"We need to sing!" Owen was suddenly standing on a table and gesturing to everyone, "Right now, we all need to sing!" Kathy's father Hayden was leaning on the bar, chuckling up at him,

"Kathy dear," Hayden called into the back kitchen, "Your boyfriend's making an ass out of himself again," Kathy emerged and shot her father a dirty look, then turned her attention to the drunk blacksmith,

"Owen, I'm only going to ask you once, get down," she was tapping her foot, her arms crossed tightly. Owen ignored her and started singing, acting like a conductor. The fisher man laughed and sang along quietly, tapping his foot to the rhythm, "Owen!" Kathy said, becoming increasingly annoyed, "Get down," she hissed.

"But I'm the entertainment!" he explained,

"No, you're drunk and annoying," Her eyes shot daggers up at him, but Owen wouldn't budge, he just continued singing off-key. Hayden laughed loudly,

"We need to hire some better entertainment around here if this is what we get for free," he chuckled,

"Dad," Kathy turned to her father, "Get him down!"

"Naw, I'm not in the mood to throw Owen out, he was rather pleasant tonight," He smiled at his daughter, obviously enjoying her pain.

"Chase! Come out here!" She shouted. The chef emerged looking disgruntled, Maya hanging off his arm,

"What Kathy, I'm a little busy to be—oh," he said looking up at Owen, a smile spreading across his lips. Kathy gestured at Owen, exasperated, "Well, I would but… Owen's kinda… tank. Gill? Care to help me out here?" Chase looked over at Gill, still smirking. Gill looked up from his drink and shrugged,

"Whatever." He said quietly,

"Come on, please?" Chase walked over to him. Gill sighed then stood to his feet, he glanced over at me and I looked away, I didn't want to get caught in those ice blue eyes again. I was already headed down a path with Gill that I'd rather not. I knew the price of falling so easily for someone I hardly knew. I couldn't help but think of Kurt. I shivered and looked back up to see Chase grinning at Gill,

"Yuuki, Toby, help them out please?" Kathy pleaded. I stared at them all quizzically; did they really need four guys to get Owen off? Yuuki grinned mischievously as they all walked over to the table. I noticed that everyone had come out of the kitchen and backroom to watch the fun, Yolanda, Maya, even Jake the owner of the Inn and his wife Colleen were smiling, waiting for the chaos to ensue.

"Wow Owen, that was a super great song," Chase said as if talking to a three year old, "But Kathy didn't like it so much, so before you start another… err… _wonderful _one, we're going to have to remove you," Chase and Yuuki were grinning, Toby yawned and stretched: I was quite sure he didn't care what happened, but Gill was still staring at me. Our gaze met and his expression softened, he looked confused, almost hurt. As soon as I had seen that in his eyes his expression hardened again and he turned around sharply,

"I'm not going _an-knee-wear_," Owen said slowly, pointing his finger down at chase. Chase and Yuuki exchanged glances before Yuuki jumped up on the table,

"Sorry man," he grinned, diving onto Owen, knocking him onto the ground. Gill stepped back and watched as Yuuki, Chase and Toby wrestled Owen, dodging his swings and laughing playfully. Everyone was laughing, me included as the four of them playfully brawled. They managed to get him almost to the door,

"Gill," Chase grunted. Gill sighed and walked over, and helped them push Owen out of the bar,

"And don't expect me to forget about this Owen!" Kathy shouted, slamming the door and huffing back into the kitchen. Yuuki, Chase and Toby exchanged high-fives and laughed, everyone else went back to doing what they were doing, all chatting lightly about Owen's antics. Gill, however, turned sharply and walked straight over to me. He stood and looked down at me for a long time, deciding on what to say

"I don't like the bar," was what he decided on,

"Then why are you here?" I was being snippy with him: after letting my old memories flood in it was hard not to be. I wanted to just tell him everything was fine, that what he had seen wasn't what had happened, but I kept remembering the boy who had pulled at that loose thread on my stitches,

"Because people like Owen decide they need to sing," he said, running one hand through his hair,

"I like Owen's singing," I mused, "He's fun, you should try that: being fun," I said it with more venom then I meant to. He looked down at me, suddenly intense,

"You and Luke," he said stepping closer to me, "You're together?" I stood up, frustrated,

"Is that what you think now?" I hissed, not wanting to make a scene, he took another step towards me,

"I saw him kiss you," he said quietly, now only inches away from me,

"You saw nothing of the sort!" I said louder than I meant to, "and besides, at least Luke is _trying _to be friendly," I said, frustrated. Was Gill jealous or something? I couldn't imagine why. It wasn't fair for him to be,

"I could kiss you," He breathed, a playful look on his face now, the same look I remembered from the clinic when I had nuzzled myself into his chest. My heart fluttered and I felt myself blush,

"W-why would you want to do that," I stammered as he reached up and tugged playfully on a lock of hair just below my chin,

"I'm just saying I _could_," he stepped back, his expression quickly turned from playful to annoyed, "I have a lot of work to do, I don't really have time to come to the bar like this."

"Then don't," I wanted to sound witty but I was still focused on settling my breathing. He looked frustrated,

"I wouldn't have to if you weren't acting so strangely: why are you staying here rather than your own home?" he asked, frustrated.

"That's not really any of your business," I said, looking away,

"Is it Luke's?" he sounded intense again, and my eyes darted back to his face,

"No. It most certainly is not." I glowered,

"Hm," Gill said and then turned and walked away, "Goodnight," he shot, his arrogant smirk had returned as he walked out the door of the bar. I huffed and marched upstairs to bed.

_What a stupid boy he's being! _I paused and blushed, _What a stupid girl I'm being._

**Oh man, I'm actually quite fond of this chapter, I very much enjoy writing drunk Owen I must admit ;D The whole bar scene in Harvest moon is one I'm very fond of. More to come! Don't forget to review! They encourage me to party: and by party I mean stay up until ungodly hours of the morning finishing chapters ;D Love you guys!**


	10. Chapter 10, Don't Get Any Cute Ideas

**Holy cow, already at chapter 10? Wow. Well here it is! Sorry about the length... The characters just got talking and there was no stopping them once that happened ;D Hope you enjoy it! Don't forget to review! They cause me to leap joyously while singing melodies of sunshine and rainbows and baby dinosaurs! :D Anyway...**

After my run-in with Gill I slept surprisingly easy. I figured it was mostly because I had worn myself out trying to deal with him. Everyone at the Inn waved me off in the morning; Kathy hugged me and reminded me,

"Don't fall asleep in the rain again," to which I snorted I sarcastic laugh.

I walked home and checked on all my crops. Renee and Yuuki did a great job, I was really thankful they could help me out. I couldn't help but giggle as I imagined the two of them working together, or Yuuki _trying _to work. I fetched my watering can and made sure each plant was fully taken care of. I put it away and headed to my barn. The little calf mooed happily when I entered; she butted me with her head playfully as I asked her,

"Want to go outside today?" I led her to the pasture and watched her trot happily through the grass. Once she was content munching on it, I sat down and peered into her black eyes, "You know, it really shouldn't be this hard to name you," I said aloud. She looked up at me, confused, but then went back to eating. I sighed heavily, standing up,

"Hikari! Hey Hikari!" Luke was running towards me, grinning hugely and waving enthusiastically,

"Hey Luke," I smiled at him, "What's up?" He stopped in front of me and leaned his hands on his knees catching his breath,

"I said I was going to visit you remember?" He huffed,

"Oh right," The conversation seemed so far away, though it was only yesterday that it took place.

"Yeah! I'm going to protect you from now on!" He jumped into the air suddenly, his fatigue apparently gone.

"That's thoughtful," I blushed, "But it's okay, I'm pretty good at protecting myself," I smiled. He had a blank look on his face for a moment before he stepped closer to me,

"It's better this way," he breathed, "I don't want to worry about you," He grinned widely at me, "If I'm the one keeping you safe I don't have to worry!"

"But I don't—" I tried to say before he cut me off, clearly uninterested in my excuses,

"COOL! A COW!" he said running over to it, "Awesome! Wow! Look at it!" He made grand gestures around her, acting like he'd never seen one before,

"Um… Don't you live on an island where Cows are a pretty common thing?" I teased,

"Yeah but, this one is going to be amazing! I can tell." He knelt down and looked into its eyes, "What's her name?" He asked intensely,

"Oh, I don't know yet…" _Not this subject again… _

"Name it after someone!" He suggested,

"Uh, sure, I'll name it after my mom. I'm sure it was her dying wish for me to keep her memory close in the form of a _cow_," I laughed quietly to myself,

"What did you say?" Luke said, slowly walking over to me. The enthusiasm and awe for my calf completely gone. I didn't know what to say to him, I couldn't believe I had just said something to that effect. _You told Kathy, not the world._ I reminded myself staring at the ground. I thought of something, but when I looked up Luke was much closer to me than I thought he would be, "Your mom…?" he said slowly,

"I… she…" I sputtered. Luke just looked down at me, an understanding in his eyes that I never thought I'd get from someone like him. His fingers slowly threaded through mine and he pulled me close to him, his other arm wrapped around my shoulders and he held me tightly,

"Yeah," he breathed, "Mine too,"

I sat in the grass with my calf, and Luke lay beside me, his eyes closed as he basked in the sunlight. We had been talking for about an hour I had guessed, I ended up telling him my story: but I only cried once this time. Luke was easy to talk to… Even so, I couldn't bring myself to tell him about Kurt.

"So…" I started, and he opened one of his eyes, "Yours too…" I looked down at my hand, pulling at the grass,

"Hmm," he sighed, "Yeah, she got sick a while back. I was little though, it's been a while. Dad thinks she's with the Goddess or something, I don't know if I believe that but I know she's still watching over me," he smiled, "So I gotta keep doing my best," He leaned up on his elbows and grinned. I couldn't help but smile along,

"Wait, your dad said she's with the Goddess?" I blinked,

"Yeah, some of the people around here seem to think this island is watched over by a harvest Goddess? I mean, it makes some kind of sense to me, but at other times: not at all," He lay back down and closed his eyes, "But, I think she exists,"

"My parents used to talk about one too," I smiled remembering our conversations, "I think it's a nice thought, a Goddess looking out for everyone."

"Yuuki has apparently met her. He says he's trying to bring her back. It's kinda weird really, Castanet was doing really badly before he showed up, but then he says he's going to bring her back: starts ringing these bells and stuff, and I dono, it seemed to work. That sounds crazy," He laughed loudly, "But it's what happened," I smiled,

"It doesn't sound that crazy to me," I admitted. I believed in the harvest Goddess, even on my first island I had.

"So," Luke said, peering over at my cow, "Thought of a name yet?"

"Yeah, how about… Bezimen?" I smirked,

"Busy men?" Luke looked up at me, incredulous, "That's weird and a terrible name," He laughed his loud laugh and fell back into the grass,

"No," I laughed, "It means 'nameless' in Croatian," he stared at me some more, "It's my attempt at humor," I sighed,

"Ooh," he chuckled, "You should stick with walking into trees, it's a way better bit," he roared with laughter again,

"Okay, okay, I'll just name it Betty," I said sarcastically

"Much better, that's a good name for a cow!" He sat up smiling at me, but it suddenly faded, "Hikari," he said softly,

"Y-yes?" I was taken aback by his sudden mood change,

"I really am going to protect you," he placed his hand on mine. It didn't feel right, I didn't want it there. I looked down at it,

"I already told you," I said pulling my hand away, "I'm fine,"

"No, you don't understand," he was now kneeling, "I don't want this island to lose someone else," He was so intense I couldn't help but get lost in his green-yellow eyes,

"W-what are you talking about?"

"Don't tell me you haven't noticed," He almost shouted, "My mom, Gill's mom, Kathy's mom, Owen and his little sister Chloe live with their grandpa, Lena and Candace; the tailors: they live with their grandmother, Jin's first wife is dead, I don't even know what happened to Toby's family," He fell back again, "When I say this island was doing badly, I mean badly," he sighed and stared at the sky, "I love the Goddess, I believe she'll fix the island, I'm so happy Yuuki is bringing it back… But I mean there are some things you can't bring back. There are a lot of mother-less, or just plain orphans living here," We were silent for a moment,

"Luke, I—" I didn't know what I wanted to say, but I knew I had to say something,

"It's okay," He smiled up at me, "Things are so much better now: everyone is happy, and since you've shown up, people have been much happier than usual," He grinned, "And I know that everyone needs someone, and some people already have that. I mean, Owen and Kathy have grown up together: they're practically married, even if neither of them will admit their feelings. And Jin and Anissa, I think they're into each other. And Gill, him and Luna will probably end up hooking up," My stomach tightened into a knot. _Gill and Luna… _

"Luna?" I said quietly,

"Yeah, the girl who works at the tailor? They've been hitting on each other forever; it's just a matter of time. I actually saw them chatting yesterday: they're cute." He laughed but I couldn't even fake it. _Who cares if Gill and Luna are together? I'm only upset because he was angry that he thought I was with Luke. _

"Huh," I said quietly,

"So! I heard I missed all the fun last night," Luke pouted dramatically, "Owen sang?"

"Did he ever," I chuckled, trying to forget about Gill, "Hayden said they needed to hire better entertainment. I wonder if he'll follow through with that," I thought aloud,

"Maybe it'll be some hot dancer," Luke mused. I hit him,

"Gross! Hopefully not!" We laughed together,

"Whatever, you're just jealous," he joked

"Pfft, you wish," I laughed

"Yeah… I do," From the way he said it I knew he wasn't kidding. He looked at me, expecting something that wasn't there; I pretended not to notice,

"Well, it's been really great hanging out with you Luke," I smiled and tried to make it look sincere, "But I think I've slacked off long enough now," I winked at him and stood up, he followed me,

"Yeah for sure! Today was really great!" He punched the air: nothing brought this guy down, "I like hanging out with you!" He laughed loudly,

"Thanks… you know, for talking to me about… everything," I grinned at him encouragingly,

"Anytime! See you later!" He then grabbed me and crushed me in a bear hug, "Bye!" he released me and ran off waving and laughing. I waved and then sighed: Luke was tiring.

I decided the rest of the day would be best spent fishing, as I hadn't really done much of that since I had arrived. I led Betty back into the barn and brushed her a few more times before heading out. I ended up at the beach and caught very little, the sun was starting to set so I figured I should head home. I walked through Harmonica town on the way back and introduced myself to the general store owners Barbara and her daughter Phoebe. Phoebe was around my age, with green hair like her mom,

"Have you been down to the mines yet?" She raved,

"Nope, not yet," I smiled, "But I hope to soon!"

"Oh you have to! It's positively spectacular! You can find all sorts of things!" She explained the finer details of mining and finding things that were worth your while to head down for the day, "And if you get lost Calvin will help you out, you know Calvin right?"

"No," I blinked, "Sorry I haven't had the pleasure of meeting him yet I supposed," I scratched the back of my head,

"Oh," She paused, "Well when you do, I'm sure you'll be less worried about mining," She smiled encouraging and I waved as I left.

"Are you Hikari?" I heard almost the second I left the building,

"Y-yes," I stammered,

"Wow… Really? I mean, I expected more I guess," A little pink haired girl stood in front of me, her arms crossed and an arrogant, stern look on her face,

"What do you mean?"

"I mean Gill starts ignoring me, and then I see him yesterday and all he can talk about is the new farm girl, Hee-car-ee," She mocked my name in a shrill, whiney voice,

"Sorry…" _What's her problem? _Then I remembered what Luke had told me… _"And Gill, him and Luna will probably end up hooking up," _My stomach twisted into a familiar knot.

"Whatever, I'm not really one for threats but I'm going to tell you something," She leaned in, a smile spreading across her face, "Gill and I are together, so don't get any cute ideas," she laughed harshly, "Poor girl, I understand your feelings: Gill is amazing, but he of all people wouldn't be one to go for the," She paused and looked me up and down scowling, "Physical labor types,"

"Ooh," I said, "So what you're saying is he's more for the girls who are like you, right?"

"Obviously," She scoffed,

"Hmm," I paused, trying to look pensive, "Well then! That's perfectly okay with me," I grinned, "I would rather have friends and people around me who help me out then turn into some," I paused and mocked the way she looked me up and down, "Well, you know, _you _types," she gaped at me,

"Excuse me?"

"Oh sorry, didn't mean to be in your way, have a good day Luna!" I waved as I ran back to my ranch, a grin plastered on my face. When I knew she couldn't see me anymore I slowed, and dragged my feet, _"Gill and I are together, so don't get any cute ideas," _Was that true? If it was… _oh who cares, I don't even like Gill_, I felt myself blush, _and even if I did, like she said, someone like him would never like someone like me. _I sighed, as a rounded the corner to my house

"Finally you're back," My head shot up, and a blinked dramatically: was my mind playing tricks on me? Leaning on my doorframe was Gill, his usual bored look was on his face, but I saw something else there too, "You made me wait long enough," I gaped at him, "Well," he teased, "Aren't you going to invite me inside?"

**I couldn't help myself with the bit about the 'hot dancer' peehee! Well I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! Look forward to the next one ;D hopefully it'll be up to par ;P Don't forget to review! Love you guys!**


	11. Chapter 11, Deciding how to Feel

**The long awaited chapter eleven! Sorry this took forever to upload/write, I've been distracting by school stuff: But here it is! I will be updating soon so don't worry :D **

I was perched on the edge of my couch staring at Gill who was comfortably sitting in the matching armchair, the books and ledgers he had been carrying were now in a neat pile on my kitchen table. He was holding one of them open on his lap while he scribbled something down in it,

"So," I finally said, "You came to my house to work?" I eyed him skeptically,

"No, but like I said earlier, I have a lot to do and I can't just take a break whenever I want," He sighed, "I have responsibilities to this island," he glanced up at me briefly, but went back to writing,

"Ooh I get it," I smiled playfully, "You came here to show me how important you are by hauling all your books and your work up here," I laughed as he looked up at me, clearly annoyed,

"I know better," He smiled down into his book, "If it were that easy to impress you I'd have done it the day we met," He looked up at me and I felt a slight blush appear on my cheeks,

"W-why do you say that?" I stammered, looking away.

"Isn't it obvious?" he mused, putting down his pencil and gazing at me, an amused look painted on his face,

"N-no, or I wouldn't have asked," I tried to sound witty, but he just chuckled,

"I'm rather fond of you," He leaned his head on his hand and smiled, I'm sure at the deep color of scarlet I was turning.

"Why are you here?" I fidgeted uncomfortably, wanting to change the subject, but secretly hoping he wouldn't let me. His expression fell slightly,

"You want me to leave?" He started to stand up,

"No!" I practically shouted my hands flying out in front of me to stop him. He smirked as he sat back down, "I'm… just wondering…" I said quietly,

"Hmm," He looked pensive for a moment before catching my gaze, "Well I wanted to see you," he smiled and my heart fluttered, "And…" he trailed off, looking back down at his book,

"And?" I encouraged

"And… When I saw you and Luke the other day…" He was looking down and could hardly tell he was blushing, "I was jealous I suppose,"

"I told you already," I sighed, exasperated, "Nothing happened, he was checking if I had a fever," I fell back into the couch,

"I know what you told me," Gill looked up, his ice blue eyes filled with something I didn't recognize: Jealousy? Anger? I couldn't tell, "But what I saw…" he trailed off, as he fiddled with a lock of his white-blonde hair.

"What you saw wasn't what you saw then," I sighed, "Why don't you just trust me?" I wasn't angry, more hurt that Gill wouldn't believe me.

"I do," He breathed, "I'm just saying that what I saw made me jealous,"

"Why?" I snapped suddenly, something inside of me clicking into place,

"I told you already, I—"

"I know, I heard you, I know," I interrupted him, frustrated,

"Then why are you—"

"Well I'm not your girlfriend or anything so you shouldn't feel jealous. The only reason you should be upset is if someone like Luke was hitting on Luna," I spat; Gill stared at me, incredulous.

"Luna?" He asked, clearly confused,

"Yes, Luna" I hissed, "It was made very clear to me that you and here were…" I trailed off thinking of the right word. I gestured largely, waving my hands over my head in synchronization, "To-get-her" I over enunciated and fell back on the couch crossing my arms firmly and staring at Gill. To my surprise Gill was not upset, he didn't seem to care that I had just exposed his "secret", instead he looked completely entertained,

"Luna and I are together now?" He mused, leaning towards me, his elbows propped against his knees,

"She made that quite clear to me today," I glowered over at him,

"Well that is certainly news to me," he laughed, "Oh dear, Luna, Luna, Luna," he laughed quietly again, leaning back into his chair,

"What?" I looked at him, puzzled, "You and Luna aren't—"

"Certainly not," he interrupted me, "But she has always wished we were," He sighed, "I'm just disappointed that she's lying to people now," he rubbed his temples closing his eyes tightly, "And that you believed her so easily," he smiled slightly,

"Well, what was I supposed to think?" I defended, his eyes shot open and Ice blue focused on me intently,

"That I'm not lying when I say I really am quite taken by you," I was waiting for him to smile but he never did,

"Well I'm not lying to you," I blushed, "When I say I'm not interested in Luke…" now he smiled, leaning forward,

"Why were you jealous of Luna?" he asked, clearly amused

"W-who said I was jealous of her?" I stammered, shifting uncomfortably. Gill's smile grew,

"You know, I've expressed a few times tonight how I feel about you, but you won't give me even the tiniest hint if you feel the same way," He said as he put his book on the floor and slid onto the couch beside me, "Does that seem fair to you?" he breathed, his mouth at my ear. I shivered but found myself leaning into him,

"Nope," I said, letting my head rest on his shoulder, "But life's not fair now is it?" He laughed quietly and brushed the hair from my face to behind my ear,

"Apparently not," I could hear the smile in his voice, "Well then," He said, pushing my head off his shoulder playfully and standing up, "When you decide how you feel, make sure to let me know," I pouted dramatically, but he only chuckled as he gathered his books together and headed for the door,

"You're leaving?" I asked, disappointed,

"I have a lot of work to do Hikari," I frowned at him, but he just laughed again, "Come find me when you've decided," he waved stepping into the night air,

"Don't count on it!" I shouted playfully after him, "I hate boys who are married to their job," He turned around, and smiled at me,

"Then I'm sure we'll never work out," I laughed and blew him a kiss. _What was doing, this is so unlike me…_ I couldn't help but smile as he blushed, turned, and walked into the night.

My smile hadn't faded by morning. I woke up easily and watered my plants, humming lightly as I worked: I felt pretty good, which was kind of a big deal for me since I had assumed I'd never feel this way again. I didn't quite trust it. I led Betty outside and chatted with her, cooing over her and ruffling the tuft of hair on the top of her head. She mooed happily and starting chewing the grass beneath her feet, her favorite past-time I decided. I watched her for a little while, deciding what I would do for the rest of the day. I blushed suddenly as I remembered the conversation with Gill the night before,

"_When you decide how you feel, make sure to let me know," _his voice rang through my head. I would tell him, but not right away. I didn't want to be too eager; I still didn't trust the way I felt, I still didn't even fully trust him… but I knew that I wanted Gill to be around more… so I decided the best thing to do would be to tell him that. I smiled to myself, and thought about what Phoebe had told me: mining did seem like a good idea today. I went inside and grabbed my hammer before heading down to the Garmon mines. As I reached the base of the mine I saw Owen throwing a little orange haired girl in the air, she giggled loudly as they ran after each other. The girl had climbed up on his back, he was trying to wrestle her off when he saw me and grinned enthusiastically,

"Hikari!" he jogged over to me, the girl clinging to his back still, "How are you doing?"

"Great actually," I beamed, "Who is, uh—"I pointed to the girl climbing up his back,

"Oh!" Owen said, reaching behind him and pulling the girl over his shoulders. She landed in his arms and he placed her on the ground,

"I'm Chloe!" the fiery girl said, "You're Hikari? Kathy always talks about you: she says you're 'good people' but I'm not really sure what that means," She looked confused,

"This is my kid sister," Owen explained to me,

"Oh, hello Chloe, It's really nice to meet you!" I smiled extending my hand, she took and it and shook vigorously,

"Hello! Hey," She said looking at the hammer I had slung over my back, "Are you going into the mines?" She looked excited, that look grew when I said,

"I sure am!"

"That's cool," Owen smiled at me, "Careful of the gasses though okay? They can be risky, especially for beginners," he was clearly concerned,

"He's right, when Owen started he got the black gas pretty bad: he couldn't see for like… four days," Chloe threw her arms in the air as she told the story,

"Yeah," Owen smiled his big goofy smile, "I was pretty reckless back then," He and Chloe laughed, "Just remember, if you see the gas, run and don't just stand there thinking you can tough it out okay?" I could see his concern was genuine so I promised I wouldn't and waved goodbye to the two as I entered the mine.

I walked down to the first level and saw some rocks that I decided needed smashing. The first few I broke I didn't find anything, but I soon found some copper ore, some iron and even some silver. As I worked I couldn't help but think about Gill and how I was going to tell him. I thought about my different options,

"Why hello Gill," I said aloud, practicing, "I am quite fond of you as well, and then I can wink and… no that's stupid," I smashed a rock and found nothing, "Oh young mister Hamilton, why yes, I want you to always be around," I couldn't help but say it like southern Belle. I laughed at myself, and smashed another, finding copper ore. I happily put it my rucksack, "Gillian Hamilton, I like you," I blushed and slapped my hand to my forehead, "That's the stupidest thing ever," I sighed. _Maybe saying something isn't the way to go_. I thought to myself. I paused for a moment before blushing deeply: I had decided. I would _say _anything; I'd just- My hammer smashed into rock. I was so lost in thought and giddy ideas that I didn't notice the black smoke escaping. Once I realized I could hardly see anything: it was too late.

"Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap," I said fumbling my way around the already dark mine. My hands waved out in front of me, and when I felt the smooth, cold stone of the steps I crawled up them, hoping the sunlight would make it better. It didn't. I knew I was outside because I could still see the basic shapes of things, it was much brighter and I could hear the birds singing. So much for showing Gill how I felt, I had bigger things to worry about now. I walked back, squinting, hoping I was going the right direction of home.

"Hikari!" I heard Gill's unmistakable voice call to me, my heart fluttered; maybe I would get my chance after all. In fact, not being able to see him could make it considerably easier: I wouldn't have to watch his 'I told you so' smirk spread across his face. As I thought this I bumped into someone: Gill I assumed.

"Hey!" I said looking up, _definitely Gill_ I thought, right height, and I heard his voice earlier,

"Hikari—"he started, he sounded different than usual, and that worried me,

"Look, I know what you're going to say," I breathed, "And I've decided. I know how I feel,"

"What are you—"I stopped him: I stood up on my tippy toes and pressed my lips lightly against his. It wasn't what I was expecting at all, in fact, I found myself completely surprised.

**Whhhhy was she suprised I wonder... Hmmm... ;D You'll have to wait and find out! Please review :D It helps me write quickly knowing people are actually going to read/be excited for it. Plus, I want to know what you think? Love it Hate it, suggestions: give er. Love you guys!**


	12. Chapter 12, That: Was Stupid

**Sorry this took so long, I've been busy doing a bunch of University stuff :P BUT ANWAY, it's here, it's grand: It's chapter 12! I hope you guys like it :3 Oh and yeah I know that Chloe is actually Owen's cousin, that comes in later no worries ;) but yeah I take a few... artistic liberties when writing sometimes: I hope you guys don't mind too much ;D well, let me know what you think! Reviewers are my favorites :D**

Gill's P.O.V

I smiled the entire way home. I felt foolish doing so but couldn't help it; Hikari really was amazing. I opened my front door and dropped my books onto the coffee table of my living room, my father turned around from his cooking,

"Out with Luna?" He asked lightly,

"No, not out with Luna," I sighed, slumping onto the couch. _Why does everyone seem to think that_? I assumed it was because of the little tailor's recent fibs that all of Harmonica town would think we were together.

"Oh," My father said, bemused, "Well, then where were you?"

"It really isn't any of your business," I said flatly opening up the ledger I was working on. It was a lot of work, but I couldn't complain: I was the one who had asked for the responsibility. I knew my father couldn't handle it himself and it was better preparing me for when I became mayor. I didn't like to be married to my job as Hikari had put it, but it really couldn't be helped,

"So you were with a girl then?" my father chuckled as he went back to chopping the vegetables in front of him.

"Why would you assume that?" I looked up from my work to glare at him,

"It always not my business when you with a girl," He laughed a little louder this time, "So who was It, if not Luna?" I sighed and fell back into the couch,

"If you really must know," I said, trying to make my annoyance tangible, "I was visiting Hikari,"

"Hikari?" He turned around, clearly thrilled, "The rancher? Oh Gillian that's wonderful!" he cooed,

"Go away," I smiled slightly at him, I didn't want him to invade my life, but I couldn't block him out entirely. He was the only family I had left, and I didn't want resentment to build up again… like after the death of my mother.

"Alright, alright, but remember son, you better make your move quickly!" He clapped his hands together, "A woman like that is sure to be off the market before you know it," He winked at me. Resentment or not, he was kind of creepy.

"I'm going upstairs," I sighed, gathering up my books, "I have a lot of work to do," I trudged up the stairs, hearing my father laughing loudly from the kitchen: he really was happy about me visiting Hikari. I sighed, sitting down on my bed. _Maybe he's right, _I thought, _I should have made my move tonight instead of telling her to make one. _I fell back, _but I really do need to know if she feels the same way I do. _I remembered the way her head rested nicely on my shoulder, her warm breath on my neck. I was kicking myself for leaving so quickly, for not staying longer, talking longer, for not kissing her. I felt myself blush. From then on I couldn't concentrate on work no matter how hard I tried; I knew I had to see her again tomorrow. I gave up trying to sort out the papers in my binder and went to sleep.

I got up quickly the next day, nervous about what I would say to Hikari once I saw her. I hoped that when I did it would all just come to me in an eloquent mass of words that would sweep her off her feet, but I knew that was unlikely. Work went by slowly, and I couldn't focus on the paperwork that needed to be done: Instead I decided to further craft my plan for what Harmonica town would look like once I was mayor. I was planning everything: what to change, what to keep, how to attract more people to the island, how to keep it beautiful… I often got lost in this project, and when I finally looked up at the clock, it was much later then I had thought it was. I cursed under my breath as I quickly gathered my books together, almost jogging home. I had dropped everything off, avoiding my father (luckily) and slipping back out the door in no time at all,

"Hello Gillian," Luna was standing on my porch, leaning delicately on the handrail and gazing at me under heavily lidded eyes. She batted her eyelashes at me innocently, "Where have you been lately?"

"What are you doing here Luna?" I couldn't hide the annoyance in my voice,

"I miss you," She pouted, walking closer to me, "You never come see me anymore,"

"Yeah," I sighed, and paused for a moment, "Do you need anything?" I felt guilty that I had just abandoned her without an explanation and as I much as I wanted to see Hikari, I couldn't just run off right away.

"I need you, Gill," she stood inches away from me, her hand rested on my chest, "I don't like that you don't come around anymore," her head now rested gently on my chest as her free arm wrapped around me,

"Luna…"

"I know what you're going to say," she looked up at me, her eyes glossy, "You and Hikari, right? Well it didn't used to always be that way Gill! That's not the way it's supposed to be! It's supposed to be Gill and Luna, we're perfect for each other and you know it!"

"It's not like that anymore," I pushed her away, "And you shouldn't have lied to Hikari and told her it was!" I almost shouted at the dainty tailor as she took a step back. Her lip quivered and I felt a pang of guilt in my stomach, "Luna I—"

"It's fine!" she cried, tears pouring down her rosy cheeks, "its fine…" with that, she turned and ran home. I just stared after her, trying to untwist the knot that was in the pit of my stomach. I decided to walk to Hikari's house, I needed to see her and I was tired of not being able to. I was walking up through the Garmon mine district to clear my head before I got there when I saw her fumbling around. She looked so disoriented, and rather cute,

"Hikari!" I called out to her; she turned her back to me and ran towards someone I recognized all too well. _She must not have heard me… _I froze when I saw her embrace him. They were having some sort of deep conversation, although I knew it wasn't my business I couldn't help but watch her lean up and kiss him delicately. His expression softened as he pulled her into him. I couldn't move. I thought I might be sick, _didn't kiss him earlier huh? _I thought, my anger be blotted out only by the despair I now felt. _She lied about everything. _I turned sharply and ran into the town, my eyes burned and my throat felt raw. I stopped at a familiar door and brought my fist down hard. I knocked loudly and frantically, the door opened slowly,

"H-hello?" the shy, blue haired tailor spoke timidly: Candace was so much different from her sister,

"Is Luna here?" I breathed.

Luke's P.O.V

I loved work and everything, but sometimes I just couldn't deal with my dad. He wouldn't shut up about me finding a girlfriend lately, I mean, everyone on Castanet was great but the one girl I liked was not into me at all. I couldn't explain that to my dad, he'd just tell me not to give up. I didn't want to bother her though, I sighed as I walked out of the shop,

"Hey Luke," Bo smiled up at me, putting down his hammer on the table he's was working on,

"Hey Bo, table's looking awesome," I grinned at him, but it felt off. I wasn't one who usually felt discouraged, but lately things just weren't working out the way I thought they would.

"Really? You think so?" He smiled widely,

"Yeah totally!" I said waving at him as I walked off to the blacksmith; he smiled again before getting back to work. I shook my head, frustrated. Why couldn't things just work out? _Goddess, come on, cut me a break. _I prayed silently, stuffing my hands into my pockets. I walked towards the blacksmith, Owen and I had made plans to head down to the bar and I knew I could unload whatever I wanted on him before he really got into his drink: he'd offer me valuable advice and then forget I ever had a problem the next day. I smiled to myself; this was something a bunch of people hated about Owen, but I didn't mind it much: it was kind of part of his charm. I laughed quietly, arriving at the Blacksmith's. My knuckles were only a centimetre away from the wood of the door when I saw Hikari out of the corner of my eye. I looked over to see her stumbling around looking like an idiot. I laughed and walked over to her; she looked my way and beamed up at me: that melted my heart a little. She skipped slightly and then bumped right into me,

"Hey!" she said happily. I smiled down at her, but I was kinda worried about the way she was acting,

"Hikari—"I wanted to ask her what was up but she cut me off right away,

"Look, I know what you're going to say," She said breathily, "And I've decided. I know how I feel,"

"What are you—"I was a little confused, what did she mean decided on how she felt? I was interrupted by something I didn't' expect at all. Hikari had stood up on her tiptoes, and planted her lips gently against mine. I could feel my eyes bulge in surprise, but soon I relaxed and found my hands gently on her face, when she pulled away I was beaming.

Hikari's P.O.V

I couldn't believe I had just done that. It wasn't like me at all: I wasn't forward and I certainly never wanted to be known as the girl who made the first move. I blushed, knowing that technically Gill was the one who had done that…

"So," I spoke as evenly as I could, "Now you know I guess," I smiled up at the dark figure, who chuckled lightly,

"Wow Hikari, I had no idea you felt like this! I mean, I hoped you had, I was trying to see if you did earlier but I thought you wanted nothing to do with me!" He laughed loudly again and I could feel my heart beat quicken. I felt a drop in the pit of my stomach: this wasn't Gill,

"L-Luke?" I stammered, my head now racing,

"Yeah?" he sounded concerned, "What's wrong?"

"I… you… but I heard—" I took a step away from him: a mixture of panic and guilt blotting out any other thoughts,

"Don't worry Hikari," he soothed, "I feel the same way about you," I felt his hands find my shoulders and I shook them off sharply,

"No!" I almost shouted, I blinked trying fruitlessly to restore my vision, "It's not supposed to be like this!" I took another step back,

"I'm sorry; I know I should have been more forward about liking you: I should've kissed you right? Well don't worry about it, that's why I like you, you're never worried about what—"

"No!" I shouted loudly this time, "I don't want to kiss you!" I could feel the tears rising in my eyes,

"What?" He asked quietly,

"It was supposed to be him! It was supposed to be Gill!" Tears spilled down my cheeks and took with them the black smoke that had coated my eyes. I inhaled sharply as Luke and I stood in silence for a long time. I slowly could make out my surroundings… I could slowly see his expression: He looked devastated.

"Oh," he finally breathed, "Yeah, yeah of course," he tried to smile but I knew it was as insincere as it looked,

"I'm sorry," I said, not being able to stand it anymore. I couldn't look at his face… I couldn't see what I had done to him. I dug my heel in hard on the loose gravel and took off, not stopping until I was home. I slammed the door behind me and leaned back against it. _That: was stupid. _I slid down the wood of the door and let my head fall back against it sighing heavily, _really, really stupid. _

**Oh dear, oh dear. Poor Luke D: Sad face to the max. Let me know what you thought of this chapter! I love reviews! I love you guys! **


	13. Chapter 13, A Misunderstanding

**Today was very snowy and gross out so I decided to stay home and write: Hope you guys like it! This chapter is pretty long... but it's good ;D I think. Review to let me know how you feel! **

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I didn't want to leave the farm. I couldn't go into town and risk seeing Luke: I couldn't shake the guilt, all I could do was distract myself and if I saw him I knew it would all come rushing back. I sighed heavily as I finished watering my crops, wondering when they would finally be ready to harvest: it had seemed like years since I planted them, but in reality it had only been about a week. I toyed with the idea of leaving and visiting Gill as I brushed Betty and fed her; I didn't want her to graze outside, the skies were looking unhappy and my only cow getting sick was not something I wanted added on to this situation. What I wanted was to see Gill. I hadn't heard from him since he told me to be more open with my feelings towards him, but that had ended very badly, so I decided to stay put. I settled on chopping down a few of the trees that were plaguing my fields, plus I really did need to gather materials for building my new house. I held my axe firmly but as I struck the tree I couldn't help but feel reminded of Luke,

"This sucks!" I shouted, throwing the axe on the ground, "Why am I so dumb?" I stomped my foot angrily, not noticing the person snickering behind me,

"It's an axe, not a rocket: it's really not so hard," Yuuki had his hands in his pockets as he nonchalantly wandered towards me, "You just swing it," he laughed as I frowned up at him,

"I'm not _that _stupid, but thanks for believing in me," I scowled at him, picking up my axe.

"Then why _are_ you stupid?" He asked lightly, cocking his head to the side,

"Why are you here?" I hoped to change the subject

"I was told to keep an eye on you a while back, I'm doing my job," he shrugged and grinned, "So tell me what's up or I'll report to Gill that you're stupid," He stuck out his tongue playfully. I sighed, knowing I would have to tell someone at some point.

"Well I—"

"Hikari!" Kathy and Renee were jogging across my farm, both waving enthusiastically my direction. They stopped in front of me, catching their breath as I let out a groan,

"Hey Yuuki," Renee beamed up at him as he turned a light shade of pink,

"O-oh hey Renee, what are you guys doing here?"

"Visiting our friend, duh," Kathy rolled her eyes before looking up at me, "Where have you been?"

"I… well I…" I took a sharp breath, "I did something stupid…"

"Yeah, she never learned how to use an axe," Yuuki chuckled as Kathy and I shot him glares,

"Seriously…" I said quietly,

"Tell us what happened," Renee soothed. I knew she was being sincere and I knew these were the friends I could tell anything to. I drew a deep breath as they stared at me expectantly. Then I told them everything.

Luke's P.O.V

"Shit man, that totally sucks," Owen rocked back in his chair, his eyebrows furrowed and his frown held tightly,

"Yeah," I sighed, "But I guess it's kinda my fault too," I reasoned,

"How the hell is it your fault?" Owen's glass hit the table, "_She _kissed _you,_"

"I know, but she thought I was freaking Gill,"

"I hate that guy," Owen scowled,

"No really?" I laughed quietly and Owen grinned at me,

"Well, this isn't his fault either," I sighed,

"I don't think it's anyone's fault, it just happened right?" he drank the last swallow of his beer and waved at Maya who was behind the counter for another, "It's dumb though: I warned her about the stupid gas just before she went in,"

"Hmm…" I paused for a moment, "it would be better if it was Gill's fault," I grinned mischievously at Owen, "It'd give me someone to blame," I cracked my knuckles menacingly and then burst out laughing, Owen boomed along with me as Maya dropped off his drink. She paused, checking for her parents. Chase was the only one around and after blowing him a kiss (that he batted away, frustrated) she plopped down into the empty chair at our table,

"Did you guys hear yet?" She whispered, leaning in towards us, excitement playing across her face

"Hear what…?" I asked tentatively, if this was about Hikari kissing me I would flip: rumors spread fast around here, but this just seemed ridiculous.

"The bar just hired a new girl! Like from another island," she giggled,

"Is she hot?" Owen asked lightly,

"Kathy's hot," I smirked over at him, trying to remind him of his romantic interest,

"Yeah, but _you_ can't say that," he grinned,

"I'm allowed to look. Not like she's dating anybody, and neither am I" I chuckled at Owen's frustration with me,

"Not the point! Maya: is new girl hot?" he took a swig of his drink

"I don't know, I haven't seen her yet," Maya exhaled, clearly frustrated with us, "And don't be such boys! Maybe she has a great personality or something!" she puffed out her cheeks, agitated,

"Awh," Chase said from the bar, "Maya are you jealous of Selena already?" He chuckled as she stomped her foot,

"N-no! Why would I be?" She huffed off into the kitchen, our laughter following her.

"Selena huh?" I wondered out loud, "What does she do?"

"She's a dancer," Chase shrugged, drying a glass with a tea-towel, "I guess Hayden was serious about hiring better entertainment after your singing debut," Owen laughed loudly, scratching the back of his head, "I heard she good: if you like that kinda thing," Chase made a face before walking into the kitchen to calm Maya down.

"Maybe you and this Selena girl will hook up," Owen grinned at me encouragingly,

"Don't be stupid," I brushed him off,

"Wow, Hikari's really got you down," Owen frowned, "You're never this negative!"

"Sorry," I sighed. The door to the bar opened slowly, and I felt my jaw drop as I saw the two people enter together.

Hikari's P.O.V

"It'll be fine," Kathy soothed, pulling me by the arm back towards the bar, "No one's there, it'll be good to have a drink!"

"Let's just have a drink at my house," I pleaded,

"You've been in your house long enough Hikari!" Renee had my other arm as they wheeled me closer to the building,

"But what if he's in there, I can't deal with him right now!" I moaned,

"Kathy, isn't there a back entrance or something?" Yuuki suggested,

"Yuuki! You're a genius!" Renee grinned at him and he smiled,

"Well I mean, we could just check to see if Luke's there and if he is we'll go back home or something," he blushed a little when Renee beamed at him again.

"You have no idea how much you guys suck," I sighed letting them pull me into the back door of the bar to the kitchen,

"Maybe you'll get lucky and see Gill," Kathy winked at me, "I know you think everything sucks right now but it's really not that big of a deal: I'm sure Luke's already forgotten about the whole thing," She tousled my hair playfully and I smiled as we walked through the kitchen,

"We'll duck behind the bar," Renee giggled as we knelt down to crawl out of the kitchen, but as soon as the door opened, I heard an unmistakable voice,

"You've _got _to be kidding me," Luke sounded pissed, I glanced over at Kathy who looked just as puzzled as I was,

"What's there to kid about?" Gill's voice responded, sounding cold and guarded,

"What's going on," I mouthed, Kathy shrugged and held her finger to her lips, listening again,

"You're with her?" Luke spat,

"See I told you he was still pissed!" I whispered at Kathy, "And where the heck are Renee and Yuuki?" We looked around but they had gone back into the kitchen, she shrugged at me, "Weird," I mouthed.

"Yes, I don't see how that's a problem to you Luke," Gill sounded different… but I couldn't figure out what it was in his voice that made me feel so uncomfortable.

"It's not a problem for _me_," Luke breathed, _what's he talking about? _

"Then why are you so indignant? Well, more so then usual I mean," A female voice… it sounded familiar. I glanced at Kathy, whose expression turned cold,

"Luna," She breathed, her eyebrows furrowing as she listened, _Luna? _

"Luke, it's not even worth it," I heard Owen say through gritted teeth, he sounded tense,

"Yes it is!" Luke almost shouted and it made Kathy and I jump a little, "So then, what, you just throw Hikari away for Luna? Is that what you're doing now?" He spat. I felt my stomach drop, _what is he talking about? _

"Yep, guess so," Luna giggled coldly,

"_I'm _throwing her away?" Gill scoffed, "That's cute. You're trying to make me jealous or something? You really are as stupid as you look," A chair scraped across the floor and big heavy footsteps walked swiftly across the room,

"You're so dead," Owen roared

"Owen, don't!" Kathy shouted, jumping up and sliding over the bar to jump in front of him, stopping his advancing on Gill, "Like you said, it's not even worth it," she tried to sooth him but I could hear the panic in her voice. I stood up slowly from behind the bar, not knowing what to do or who to look at, I settled on my feet.

"What the hell Kathy?" Owen looked down at her, anger all over his face, "Were you guys just hiding down there this whole time?" She blinked before looking up at him,

"Yes," she said flatly, staring into his eyes. I glanced at Gill, Luna clinging to his left arm; he was looking at me with a pained expression. I felt a familiar numbness. We were all silent for a few moments before Luke walked slowly over to Gill,

"You," he growled, "Have no idea how much of an idiot you're being," Gill's eyes snapped away from me and turned to Luke, a smirk settled on his lips but it was Luna who spoke,

"Well it looks like people can't go for drinks anymore without getting into fights that don't even make sense. I mean seriously: is it really any of your business that Gill and are together, it didn't seem to be last time," Gill looked down at her, but her eyes shot towards me, "I guess it's because poor little Hikari is involved this time, isn't it?" Kathy shot Luna the dirtiest look I'd ever seen as Owen fists tightened, "I mean if she wants to go making out with every guy that moves that's _fine _by me," she laughed coldly. My head started spinning a little, _what was she saying? How did she know that I had… well… the thing with Luke?_

"Get out," Kathy growled, turning sharply towards her,

"Why can't Hikari fight her own battles? I mean, she's certainly brave enough when it comes to men," She tossed her hair and giggled, "Or is that just called being a slut?" A few things happened very quickly after that comment was made: the first was that Gill, Chase, Maya, Luke and Owen all simultaneously gasped. The second that Gill stepped away from her muttering something about 'being uncalled for', the third was Luke shouting protests trying to explain the situation and the forth was Kathy, walking swiftly over to Luna and delivering a strong, well-aimed punch directly to her face. Luna fell backwards and Kathy jumped on top of her, while shouting things about 'barging into my bar,' and 'badmouthing her friends' and how 'she was getting what she deserved'. Luna was squealing and crying as Owen pulled Kathy off, his laughter filling the room as he held the struggling cowgirl tightly. Gill helped Luna off the floor, uttering a string of profanities as he led her out of the bar,

"And stay out!" Kathy shouted after them, "Unless you want a taste of that again!"

"Wow Kathy," Owen laughed, still holding her arms so that the angry cowgirl couldn't escape and go hunting for tailors, "You brought out kick-ass Kathy and there's not even a drunken idiot around,"

"No, just a normal idiot," Kathy replied through gritted teeth. Owen laughed loudly again and this time Luke and Chase joined in. Maya walked slowly over to me,

"Don't listen to Luna," She said quietly, "No one believes anything that comes out of her mouth anyway," She smiled at me encouraging and I tried to reciprocate, but couldn't manage to do so,

"Thanks Maya," I muttered, wrapping my arms around my chest, she frowned for a moment,

"I know what you need!" she snapped her fingers, "Cake, you need cake. Cake makes everything better!" She grinned and skipped towards the kitchen. She opened the door and took a step in, and then immediately took a step back out and turned around, her face bright red, "O-or maybe not right now," she stammered, lowering her head and walking across the room,

"What's going on Maya?" Chase asked, noticing the little blonde's embarrassment,

"Umm…" she stopped for a moment and looked over at the kitchen. Kathy looked up at Owen and grinned as he let her down, then everyone walked over slowly to the kitchen door. We opened it a crack and peered inside.

"Gross! They're totally making out," Luke said, repressing laughter,

"Finally," Kathy sighed, "They're a couple,"

"Not in my kitchen they aren't," Chase swung the door open and the two jumped back, looking over, Renee blushed deeply but Yuuki just grinned at us,

"Oh hey guys," he laughed. Owen boomed with laughter while Chase gave them a speech about safe food handling. Luke was making snide comments about them not handling _food _at all. Kathy looked over at me, an encouraging smile on her face,

"Thanks for beating up Luna," I smiled back,

"Any excuse I can get for that one: I take it," She winked at me before becoming serious, "I'm sorry though… I'm sure it's all a misunderstanding with Gill right now. Want me to talk to him for you?"

"No," I said quickly, "No, it's fine, he and Luna are good together," I tried to smile but she just rolled her eyes at me,

"Yeah, I'm sure that's how you really feel,"

I glanced over at Luke, who was joking about Renee and Yuuki while Owen laughed loudly. _At least he seems to be over it. _I smiled, hoping I wouldn't hurt him anymore.

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**I get the feeling Kathy has wanted to do that for a long time. Oh and don't worry, Luke will get love soon enough D: i know it's sad that's he's sad, it makes everything so sad. Don't forget to review! Let me know what you thought! Love you guys!**


	14. Chapter 14, Flower Festival

**I noticed that the Flower Festival was one hardly ever written about****. I don't know why, but I think it's a nice festival (to a certian extent I suppose). ANYWAY: here it is! Hope you guys like it! **

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The days seemed to pass in blur. Had it really been a week already? I wasn't sure. I kept forgetting to glance at the calendar, but even if I had it would have taken a while for me to figure out just which day it was: although it was rather unimportant to me. I had spent the last few days fishing, mining and exploring Castanet. I now knew my way around fairly well, but still got lost a few times. Caring for Betty came easily to me, so I was rarely concerned about her. I had finally been able to harvest my crops, and after visiting Marimba farm, planted all new ones. I then brought my business to Horne Ranch,

"He's all yours," Renee had beamed, leading a small foal towards me,

"Thanks!" I responded, happily taking the reins and handing over the remaining inheritance money I had left; I knew I'd have to start bringing in a larger profit from the farm but my new crops were sure to do just that. My recent horse racing with Kathy and Renee had reminded me just how much I loved riding and how much of a necessity it was to my happiness. I caved and bought the new foal from Horne ranch, placing him comfortably in the barn,

"Crap," I had muttered as Kathy cooed over the little horse,

"What is it?" She looked up at me,

"Now I have to name it," I rolled my eyes as she laughed; having something like horse riding in common was great for Renee, Kathy and I. We now found even more excuses to hang out together, and thus got more opportunities to tease Renee about her new boyfriend.

Yes, it must have been about a week since I saw Gill and Luna in the bar. A week since Kathy had beaten the living daylights out of the snotty tailor. A week since Gill hadn't thought twice about asking me what had happened between Luke and I… A week… Yet I couldn't stop thinking about it. I felt a familiar weight in the pit of my stomach any time I was reminded of the mayor's son: which was more times then I wanted it to be, believe me. So when Kathy excitedly showed up on my doorstep, I was less than thrilled,

"Flower Festival?" I asked again,

"Yes, it'll be fun!" She grinned at me,

"Like… a festival for flowers?"

"Kind of," she rolled her eyes, "We go watch the cherry blossoms,"

"You sit and stare at trees? Sounds lame," I laughed quietly

"They're pretty."

"Since when do you care about pretty flowers?" I teased,

"Since its fun and an island tradition and—"

"Is Owen going?" I interrupted her. She blushed for a moment before muttering a quiet affirmation. I eyed her skeptically, "It's a couple event, isn't it?"

"Not at all, lots of people go! Come on Hikari, I hardly beg you for anything: come to the stupid festival. You haven't been into town in like a week. It'll be good to forget about Gill for a bit," she glared at me a little but her expression softened when she saw the twang of pain across my face at the mention of Gill, "Just come Hikari, it'll be fun I promise," I sighed and then nodded,

"Fine, but if it's all couples making out I am so outta there," I grinned sheepishly at her and she beamed back,

"Great! Meet you tomorrow near the church! Dress nice." she waved as she ran back towards the bar. I sighed and leaned hard against the door frame, crossing my arms and wondering what I had just signed myself up for.

I showed up to the church grounds in my red sundress a little late: the last thing I wanted was to be early and have to wait around for everyone. There were blankets spread all across the ground, each with a picnic basket placed near the center. I saw Coleen and Jake holding hands near the large cherry tree on a hill; I watched them embrace and turned away, suppressing a blush. Renee and Yuuki were lounging happily on a pink picnic blanket, his arm around her casually as she dug through the picnic basket beside them. They waved me over,

"I'm so glad you made it!" Renee smiled,

"Hopefully I will be too," I muttered, sitting down at the edge of the blanket. Yuuki's eyes were fixed on Renee, his lips pursed,

"It's good to appreciate the islands beauty every once and a while," She said, focusing on the basket again,

"Mmmhmmm," Yuuki nodded, his eyes wandering to Renee's face, "Sure is beautiful," She blushed after looking up and him and giggled. I gaged dramatically,

"Get a room," I rolled my eyes and Renee's blush deepened as Yuuki let out his carefree laugh, leaning up and kissing her on the cheek. _So much for it not being a couple's event _I thought, cursing Kathy. Speaking of,

"Hey!" Kathy waltzed over to us, she was wearing a pretty little blue sundress and her hair was down: her cowboy boots, however, stayed. I giggled when I saw her,

"You look great!" I said, standing to greet her,

"Thank you, thank you," She tossed her hair dramatically before shouting behind her; "I found them! Over here!" An olive skinned girl turned to face Kathy, her brilliant red hair in an intricate bun, leaving her long bangs free to blow in the breeze. She was wearing clothing that flowed and jingled with each step she took, but also left patches of her skin bare, showing off her curvy body,

"Selena," Renee smiled at her, "How are you?"

"I'm fine, no one has bought me any flowers yet," Selena examined her nails, clearly disinterested, "Maybe I'm losing some of my charm," she shrugged and then laughed humorlessly, Kathy grinned at her,

"Selena, this is Hikari, she's been here just a bit longer then you have: but lately she's been scared of the bar or something and hasn't been coming around," Kathy winked at me,

"I see," Selena nodded thoughtfully, "Let me guess: man trouble," She gave me a blank, bored look,

"It's… I… N-no," I sputtered, taken aback by her frankness. She just laughed, this time carefree and light,

"I was only joking, but now I can see it actually is," she held out her hand, "Sorry, I'm Selena, I dance at the bar," I smiled taking it,

"Hikari, like Kathy said," She nodded as a familiar blue haired carpenter appeared behind her accompanied by the beefy blacksmith,

"I bought you lilies," Luke grinned toothily, offering Selena the white flower. She smiled,

"Never mind: charm's back," She took it, "Thank you," she said, gazing at him under heavily lidded eyes. She seemed so disinterested and carefree, but it seemed to make everyone ogle her.

"No problem: anything for my girl," Luke laughed as she turned towards him,

"I'm not _your girl_," she grimaced, "And I will throw this away the next time you imply that," she held the flower away from her as Owen boomed with laughter,

"What happened to her falling head over heels for you? I thought 'girls dig flowers?'" Owen laughed, razzing his friend. Luke elbowed him,

"Only kidding Selena," he winked at her before turning towards me and grinning again, "Hey there Hikari,"

"Hiya Luke," I smiled back. Owen walked over to Kathy and let out a long whistle,

"Well would you look at you," he said holding his arms out, "Screw flowers, I'll just chop you down that whole tree over there: you deserve it," He grinned,

"Shut up Owen, don't make fun of me," She blushed

"So I'm not allowed to say that you look nice?" He tilted his head to the side, confused,

"N-no, you can…" Kathy scuffed the ground with the toe of her boot,

"Well you look nice," Owen beamed, scratching the back of his head,

"Well… so do you!" Kathy almost shouted, clearly embarrassed. Selena rolled her eyes,

"Just kiss already, all this tip-toping around it is making me nauseous," She said focusing on her nails once more,

"W-what?" Kathy turned towards Selena, her cheeks a dark crimson, "K-kiss?" she stammered,

"Isn't that what lovers do when they greet each other?" Selena crossed her arms, clearly annoyed,

"He's _not _my _lover_" Kathy made a face,

"Coulda fooled me," Yuuki mumbled. Luke and Renee laughed loudly but Owen looked down at Kathy,

"Come on, you don't wanna kiss me?" He pouted dramatically, "When are you going to? I've beaten you at horse racing already," He suppressed a laugh, "But that didn't work out so good,"

"S-shut up!" Kathy stomped her foot, "You're an idiot!" She turned around and huffed.

"What, was a kiss asking too much?" Owen placed his hand on top of the blondes head,

"No… I just… you… and then…" I had never seen Kathy struggle to find the right words, and I could see Owen suddenly felt bad for embarrassing her,

"I'm only joking Kathy," He smiled down at her, removing his hand and looking slightly disappointed, "Only joking,"

Owen spent the next while apologizing to Kathy as the other's settled down on the blankets. I sighed, _not coupled off huh? _I thought as I walked towards to pink trees, leaving everyone else to their love interests. I sauntered up the hill to where Coleen and Jake were earlier; most people were now sitting happily on their blankets watching the petals float delicately across the breeze. I got to the top of the hill silently thanking the Goddess that Luna and Gill weren't around. I leaned up against the large tree and stared up at its blossoms. They really were beautiful. I closed my eyes and let myself be taken by the fragrance, feeling the setting sun on my face.

"Pretty, aren't they?" I jumped a little and stared incredulous at Gill who was standing a few feet away from me. I was so intent on the pink petals I hadn't even noticed him climbing the hill,

"Y-yes," I stammered, not knowing what to say,

"My mom used to love watching the trees blossom," He sighed walking towards me, running his hand through his hair and smiling slightly. I didn't say anything, just continued to stare at him, "I'm sorry Hikari," He finally said, his eyes suddenly intense as ice-blue focused on me. I felt my heart pick up its pace. I wanted to walk away, I wanted to yell and make a big scene, but the truth was: it felt good to look into the eyes I had been thinking of all week long.

"For what?" I managed to say. He sighed, stuffing his hands into his pockets,

"I find myself saying sorry to you a lot," he looked off to where the sun was now setting, bathing us in orange light, "I keep doing things that are so... so… stupid. I'm sick of hurting you," He looked back at me, his eyebrows furrowed, "Every time something happens with you that I don't particularly like or understand I hurt you to make myself feel better. But it's not working, I just end up hating myself." His eyes were glossy as he took another step towards me, "And I'm really sorry." I was silent. My mouth was dry and I was afraid of what my voice would sound like if I spoke. He gazed at me again before turning away, he took three paces down the hill before turning back, "I understand," he breathed, "I wouldn't forgive me either," he continued to walk away,

"Wait!" I finally shouted. He froze but didn't turn around, "What about Luna?" I had to ask, although I didn't want to… All I wanted to do was hold him and tell him it was alright. I saw his shoulders stiffen before he turned back to me, his expression pained,

"She's not you," He said flatly, "And I'm sick of fooling myself into thinking she could be," he shook his head, walking back up to me, "Hikari, I'm so sorry," He came close to me and paused, looking at the petals floating all around us, "And I'm sorry I never did this earlier," Before I could say anything his hand gently tilted my face up towards his and he softly placed his lips against mine. I could feel my eyes widen with surprise, but I soon relaxed and gave in, my hand finding his and our fingers entwining as he kissed me, cherry petals floating around us.

Maybe festivals for flowers weren't so bad after all.

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**Yaaayeeee he finally kissed her! :D Hope you guys liked this chapter! Review to let me know what you thought! When you review, you get in my good books for life. Love you guys! :D**


	15. Chapter 15, Thanks for the Tea

**Hey everyone :) Sorry it took a little while for me to update: I got kinda distracted by my April Fools one shot that I did :P Hope you can all forgive me ;D This is a Loooong chapter... but a good one! I think ;P Don't forget to review! I'll be updating soon, don't worry :)**

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Gill's P.O.V

I _still _couldn't sleep. Insomnia seemed to go hand in hand with having Hikari in my life, especially when I had tried to cut her out. I rolled onto my back and sighed heavily, running my hand through my hair: I couldn't help the small smile on my lips. Was kissing her like that really the best decision? I didn't care anymore. She looked so beautiful in her dress, her hair billowing in the wind… and the cherry petals… It kind of seemed like a bad romance novel when I thought about it now. I was never one to be reckless, but since I saw Hikari with Luke: the most reckless guy in town, I found myself becoming… well… a lot less like myself. Was it that I wanted to become more like Luke? I felt myself scowl at the thought. It wasn't that I wanted to be Luke; it was just that my feelings for Hikari made me do things that were totally irrational. I grimaced remembering my misinterpretation of seeing her with Luke, his confrontation with me was still fresh in my mind.

He had pounded loudly on my door; I turned my attention from Luna, who was talking about her hair or something, to the knocking and grumbled over, swinging the front door opened. The blue haired carpenter glared down at me, his facial expression grim,

"What do you want," I hissed. Our argument in the bar four days earlier was still fresh in my mind: probably because Luna wouldn't stop crying about the fact that Kathy had given her a black eye. The only thing that had become more annoying to me then Luna's vanity was her need for reassurance in everything she did.

"I want you to know the truth," Luke whispered, leaning in towards me. He glanced over my shoulder at Luna who was standing with her arms crossed, her nose in the air. She tapped her foot,

"Come away from the door Gill, there really is no need to talk to…" She wrinkled her nose, "_that _man," she made a small _Hmpf _noise,

"Look," I said through gritted teeth, "You'd better leave,"

"Not until you know what happened, listen to me!" He grabbed my collar and pulled me closer to him, "I don't want to say it in front of her, okay? It'll just…" he released me slightly, looking away, "…Cause a lot more fights, okay?" I paused for a moment, measuring his expression. _What he is talking about? _I couldn't help myself. I nodded slightly,

"Fine, come back here in fifteen minutes: I'll get rid of her," I kept my eyes narrowed, not sure whether to trust him or not. He nodded, his expression softening slightly as I closed the door and leaned my back against it, fixing my expression to nonchalant as I gazed over at Luna. She waltzed over to me and pouted,

"What did _he _want?" She took my hand and led me over to the couch,

"He wanted to talk about relocating his business," I lied, my mind spinning on ways to get Luna out of my house in fifteen minutes. Once her mind was made up, it was difficult to sway her.

"How boring," She sat down and batted her eyelashes up at me, clearly trying to be alluring. She patted the cushion next to her in a gesture for me to sit. I crossed my arms and sighed as I slumped into the couch,

"He's actually coming back so…" I looked away, knowing she'd have that fake little pout I'd grown weary of,

"So..?" She twisted her hair through her fingers "So you want me to leave?" I looked over to see her glowering back,

"Well, I need to talk to him. It's business and if I want to be mayor then I—" I was interrupted by her mouth catching mine, I was surprised at her sudden affection and sat there stunned. She moved slowly but in a flash she became more aggressive, her hands knotting through my hair. I tried to push her off, "Luna… I…" She didn't let up, so I pushed with more power this time, "Luna I'm serious!" She landed in a little heap back on the couch and looked at me; I couldn't tell if she was annoyed or upset,

"I'm the prettiest girl on this island, Gill," She said haughtily, "I think you'll find that you can keep some carpenter away for me," I couldn't help the scoff that escaped my lips, "Oh I'm not the prettiest?" She was now angry: this was sure.

"I didn't say that Luna," I rolled my eyes standing up, aware that she was following me as I walked into the kitchen,

"Every guy on this island would kill to have me on his arm, but it's you I choose to be with," I turned to face her and she was closer than I had thought. She backed me against the wall, "Aren't you _happy _you're with me?" She was suddenly sincere and I felt a pang of guilt for rejecting her so forthright,

"Yes, I'm happy," I said slowly, trying to smile.

"So then, can you keep a carpenter away for me?" She breathed, coming closer to me, "Please," I could feel her warm breath on her neck and I was suddenly reminded of Hikari: I blushed. When Luna pressed her lips against mine, and my eyes closed, I couldn't help but imagine it was Hikari's lips I was kissing. My eyes shot open and I pushed her away again, guilt taking over me,

"Luna, no, it's business, I need to take it seriously. Can you please try to understand?" I walked back to the door and she stomped her foot,

"I don't take _my_ business so seriously!" she shouted, "You're such an ass! I deserve so much better then _you_!" her words were filled with venom, and I was surprised by how little they hurt me. In fact, I felt a wave of relief wash over me,

"You're right Luna, you deserve more," I smiled as her mouth dropped open,

"Are you kidding me? You're not breaking up with me; I'm breaking up with you! Okay?" She stomped her foot and then walked toward me,

"Okay, that's fine," I said as flatly as possible, I didn't want to hurt her feelings badly.

"Fine!" She flung the door open and we were both met by a very dazed looking Luke. She stumbled back slightly before pushing past him; her nose was in the air as she hurried home. Luke just looked at me, wide eyed. I shrugged,

"We broke up. Looks like Kathy was right all along," I frowned but Luke smiled at me, encouragingly,

"Well, then chances are better that you'll like what I'm going to tell you,"

How could I have been so stupid? My pride had gotten in the way again. _She could never forgive me;_ I couldn't stop the thought from rolling around in my mind. Although I knew I didn't deserve her forgiveness, I prayed that she would. I'd be lying if I said the flower festival wasn't one of the best days of my life, but I couldn't shake the look on Hikari's face when I had finally apologized to her. Why couldn't I have stopped at that? Probably because I had been imagining what it would be like to kiss her since the day we met. She seemed happy enough, and I could tell she was kissing me back, but what if she was upset with me still? I sat up; the soles of my feet met the cool hardwood of my bedroom. I didn't know what I was doing as I pulled on my navy blue hoodie and zipped it half way up my chest. I stuffed my hands into the pockets and walked swiftly down the stairs, taking care not to wake my father: I had to see her. As I slide my shoes on, I slipped out of the door and into the cold night air, making my way hastily down the street. I wasn't sure what time it was, but I knew it must be late: the lights in the bar were off, but I didn't care. Nothing else really seemed to matter at this point. I stopped abruptly outside her farm, now questioning my rash decision: _she's sleeping. You're going to wake her up? How cruel. She's probably so tired._ I kicked at the ground hesitantly. I shut my eyes and took a step closer to her door, my hand meeting the cool metal of the doorknob. I held my breath as I twisted it, testing: it was unlocked. The door swung open silently and I froze: stunned that I hadn't knocked. _How rude! _I knew I wasn't rational because my feet had taken me inside: I closed the door lightly behind me before I knew it I was standing over her. She was sleeping so peacefully in her single bed… or so I thought,

"So now you're breaking and entering, huh?" She turned over groggily, laying on her back to stare up at me. My eyes bulged: I was discovered. She blinked, waiting for my reply, but I was lost in her big hazel eyes that I couldn't stop thinking about. Her eyes narrowed, "Ookay, you're just going to creepily walk into my house and stare at me?"

"N-no," I stammered taking a step backwards, biting my lip: I could feel the blush rising in my cheeks.

"So then…" she sat up slowly, "Why're you in my house..?"

"I thought you were sleeping," I sputtered, _great, make yourself sound like a creepy stalker: way to be buddy, _I scolded myself. She blinked twice, tilting her head slightly to the said, questioning, "N-no, I mean, I was just… I uh…" All this seemed to go a lot better in my head on the way over here.

"You couldn't sleep?" She asked, a smile on her lips,

"Yeah," I finally breathed, my eyes downcast,

"Me too," she sighed, pulling her blankets off and swinging her legs out of bed. She was wearing a red nightgown, very reminiscent of the dress she had worn to the festival the day before. She slipped on a pair of bunny slippers before taking my hand and pulling me towards the kitchen, "Want some tea?" She asked, grinning up at me,

"Yeah," I said for the second time. _Why, oh why am I acting like this?_ My thoughts raced around my head. Hikari went to work in the kitchen, fetching herbs out from her fridge and boiling water: she hummed happily to herself. I stood watching her and couldn't help but smile. She looked up and blushed,

"What are you staring at?" She asked, suddenly self-conscious,

"You," I shrugged, "You're… beautiful," I walked closer to her, my smile widening as her blush deepened,

"It's like… two am, I probably look like I've just died or something," she sidestepped me, flattening out her hair. I laughed quietly, my apprehension gone now that the initial shock of me in her house had worn off,

"Prettiest corpse I've ever seen then," I grinned, but she just looked away, trying to hide her smile,

"Nice P.J's" she quipped, fetching two mugs from the cupboard,

"Likewise," I eyed her approvingly, but she just blushed again as she handed me a mug of tea. She walked over to her couch and sat down, I followed chuckling quietly: just being around Hikari lifted my spirits. I sat down beside her, placing my mug on the coffee table and looked over at her out of the corner of my eye,

"Why couldn't you sleep?" she sipped her tea, trying to act indifferent to my being there. I sighed heavily,

"It's sort of… embarrassing," I ran my hand through my hair,

"Oh, and coming into my house in the middle of the night unannounced isn't? You could have knocked," She glared a little,

"Yeah… I'm sorry," I really was, it was very unlike me to do something like that, "It won't happen again," I said sternly, lifting my mug to my mouth,

"Well… I mean…" she shifted slightly, "it's okay… I kinda… I'm really happy you're here actually," She focused on her tea, making it painfully obvious that she was attempting to hide her embarrassment, I chuckled a little, "What?" She looked over,

"Nothing, I'm just happy," I shrugged, looking over at her.

"Why?"

"Because,"

"Because Why?"

"Because I am,"

"You suck," She put her tea down abruptly and stared at me, her eyes narrowing, "Why couldn't you sleep?" she breathed,

"Because I…" I grumbled slightly, "I can't stop thinking about you, Okay?" The frustration in my voice made it sound a lot more edgy then I wanted it to. Her eyes widened as she leaned back, at first I thought I had upset her as she picked up her tea, but the grin that followed reassured me.

"Yeah," She sighed happily, "Me too,"

"Hikari," I said, remembering why I had come to her house in the first place, "I'm really sorry, about everything," She looked up at me, puzzled,

"I know," She smiled, "You already said that at the festival,"

"No… I know…" I shook my head, "I shouldn't have been like that. I was just acting… well… reckless?" It sounded kind of like a question, and I shook my head again, frustrated: I wanted to say this right. She looked up at me, expectant but also a little confused. I sighed and started again, "I should have just apologized, I mean, I acted really horrible to you and all because I had too much pride to actually just ask you what was going on. I shouldn't have kissed you and I really don't want you to be mad at me or anything so I—" I was interrupted by her giggle, which then turned into a bigger laugh, "W-what?" I stammered,

"Gill…" She said, becoming slightly serious again, "The flower festival was amazing," She flushed deep pink, "I uh… I really liked… that you… kissed me…" She turned away and I felt myself relax tension in my shoulders I hadn't realized was there. She turned back to me and smiled that sweet little smile I would never get sick of. I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her closer to me, burying my face in her hair,

"Good," I breathed as she nuzzled closer to me. We sat there for a long time in silence, feeling incandescently happy. I wanted to know everything about her, but realized how little I actually did know, "Hikari?"

"Mmm?" She replied sleepily

"What happened to your parents?" I said slowly. I felt her body stiffen slightly and she sat up straighter, looking me in the eye, measuring my expression.

"Are you wondering why I left home?" She said intensely, almost in a whisper,

"Y-yeah… but you don't have to tell me I mean…" I trailed off. She stared at me for a while before sighing heavily.

"No, I want to tell you… it's a long story though…" She looked away: was she ashamed?

"I'm not going anywhere," I smiled at her encouragingly.

She drew breath and then told me everything. I still remember the way her eyes got glossy when she spoke about her parents, and how much she clearly missed everything about her old life: her farm animals… some of her old friends… but she told me how desperately she needed to leave. When she told me about Kurt my fists tightened, I could feel the rage in my body causing me to shake slightly. I had let out a string of curse words and had a little bit of a fit when she told me what he had done to her. I gathered her in my arms and held her there as her tears absorbed into my hoodie. I never wanted to let her go… And I wanted to kill that Kurt guy: which I made very clear to her.

She fell asleep in my arms and I carried her back over to her bed, placing her gently down. I looked out the window and saw light: dawn already? I chuckled quietly: how reckless I was becoming indeed. I stared down at her for a few moments, before a thought occurred to me. I walked over to kitchen and scribbled something down on a post-it note, then placed it on her bedside table. I kissed her on the forehead before quietly leaving, getting out before any of the villagers spotted me leaving her house at this time in the morning: I didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea… I walked home grinning ear to ear.

Hikari's P.O.V

My eyes snapped open as my alarm clock beeped obnoxiously, _was all that a dream?_ I swung out of bed and looked over at the coffee table: Two mugs. I sighed, grinning slightly as I fell back onto my bed. It had been one of the best nights of my life. I chuckled as I sat up, turning off my alarm clock. There on my bed side table was a note written with neat, elegant scrawl. It read:

_I'm taking you to the Circus on the 22._

_And thanks for the tea. _

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**Finally, GillxHikari. Geeze it took the two of them long enough;D, Sorry about the length... I know it got super long D: ANNNNYYWHOOO REVIEW! (yeah, I rhymed, I'm _that _awesome. :P) But seriously! I love them reviews :D Love you guys!**


	16. Chapter 16, Chickens!

**Heyoo, wow i'm sorry how long this took to put up... i've been like super swamped with school stuff lately, i'm sorry D: I was writing this chapter and it got to be wayyy to long so I split it into two, hope that's okay :P the next chapter should be up in a day or so! So I'll not to make y'all wait so long this time! ANYWAY! let me know waht you think (Reviewwwww, and i will loooveee yooou)**

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I had finally named my horse. Since I had already started with the generic hillbilly names for my animals, what with Betty the cow, I settled on Gary. I couldn't help but find humor in going into my barn each morning and shouting.

"GARY!" To which a happy foal would come trotting over to me whinnying agreeably. Betty had become quite pleased with the company and the two of them had taken to chasing each other around the field, before munching lazily on the fresh grass. I loved my animals, and my crops had started to pay out substantially so I decided to head down to Horne ranch again.

"Renee!" I waved enthusiastically at the little brunette as I walked into her barn. She turned from the large pony she was grooming and grinned at me,

"Kari! I didn't know you were stopping by today, did you want to ride?" She hugged me briefly, our usual greeting,

"Naw, I'm just here to buy some chickens," She grinned again, taking my arm and leading me to the coop. We chatted lightly on our way back to my farm to drop of the chickens I had picked out, she gushed slightly about her and Yuuki's latest date. I blushed when she asked me if anything had happened between Gill and I since the night he had come to my house: Of course the morning after this auspicious night I had run full tilt to the bar and grabbed Kathy before heading to Horne ranch and telling my two best friends everything. Kathy's eyes grew the size of dinner plates as the two girls giggled approvingly. Nothing really had happened since the night he broke into my house. I skipped down to town hall a few days later, hoping to hang out for a while but he was buried in his work load. After shooting me a truly sorry look, I left feeling rather disappointed. He had promised he would take me to the circus, and that was tomorrow. I grinned to myself thinking about the fun I knew we would have.

"Hikariiiiiiiii," Renee snapped her fingers in front of my face and blinked back to reality,

"S-sorry," I stammered, placing the two chickens I was carrying into the barn. She had already put down the handful of fluffy yellow chicks she brought over and placed her hands on her hips,

"Are you sure you can look after all of these?" She pursed her lips, "How are you even going to name them… We all know what you're like about that," She laughed when I scowled at her,

"Of course I can take care of them, and naming them won't be a problem: I already thought of names," I was proud of myself for doing so, and gave her a smug look as I tilted my nose into the air,

"Oh, really?" She eyed me skeptically," What are they then?"

"Well!" I pointed to each chicken as I revealed the names, "Omelette, Scramble, Sunnyside, Poach, and Pickle," I grinned at my own cleverness. Renee just laughed,

"That's actually great. I'm impressed!" She beamed at me as a familiar brunette boy appeared at the door. He leaned against it casually and looked over at Renee, wolf whistling. She blushed but I rolled my eyes,

"Yuuki, you two have been dating for a while now: I think you can quit with the cheesiness," As I spoke Renee skipped towards him and they embraced each other grandly, "And enough with the over-affection. Oooie," I turned away, grossed out to say the least.

"You shouldn't talk," Yuuki eyed me, "Renee told me about you and Gill's late night rendezvous," he snickered as I shot Renee a glare,

"Sorry," She giggled, "I couldn't help it,"

"Its fine," I sighed as Yuuki and Renee spoke affectionately to each other, leaving the barn. Renee shot me a goodbye and Yuuki waved; his stupid grin still on his face. I sat down on the cold floor of the coop and pulled Omelette onto my lap, she was a full sized hen and soon the other chickens waddled over to me as well. Apparently Scramble was jealous and Pickle, Poach and Sunnyside were probably just following the crowd. They all started climbing on me, the little chicks on my head and shoulders as I protested, constantly putting them back on the ground one at a time, but they would simply jump back on, "Get outta here!" I laughed as Pickle stumbled backwards but jumped onto my knee, rolling up my leg. I fell into a pile on the ground with all my chickens on top of me, clucking happily. I was laughing rather hysterically when I heard someone clear their throat at the door. I froze and looked up slowly,

"What is this?" Gill said, staring down at me. His hands were in the pockets of dark jeans but he was still wearing his white vest, _he must have just come from work_,

"Chickens!" I snorted, trying to sit up once more,

"No, _really?" _he rolled his eyes sarcastically and picked up a fluffy yellow chick, bringing it close to his face, feigning interest, "Huh," he said lightly plopping it back onto my head, "Well if that's that then," he turned to leave,

"Noo, come baack!" I called back dramatically; "Save me from these fowl beasts!" he chuckled quietly and gathered up the chicks in his arms, shoeing the large hens away. I stood up and brushed myself off, "Did you see what I did there? _Fowl _beasts? Like Fowl… like birds… like chickens?" Gill just stared at me blankly before rolling his eyes,

"Yes, I saw what you did there," he flicked my forehead, "but it was funnier before you explained it," he laughed and I grinned widely, I'd been waiting to hear that laugh for a few days.

"What are you doing here? Don't you have work?" I asked, suddenly remembering the crazy work stress he'd been under lately. He just shrugged,

"I cut out early, figured I should skip work to see you. After all, if I'm going to be mayor I have to make sure all the farms are running smoothly. From this display I can see yours clearly isn't," he joked, gesturing to the chickens.

"Well, guess I should just pack up and leave then," I looked at him slyly, "No point in me staying around a place where I'm not needed!"

"You may be needed elsewhere…" Gill said thickly, taking my hand and pulling me into his arms. He held me tightly: he was so warm. I nuzzled my head into the nape of his neck, relaxing in his arms,

"And where would that be?" I murmured, closing my eyes and smiling,

"Right here," he breathed, kissing the top of my head before resting his own there, "I couldn't wait until tomorrow to see you, I'm sorry,"

We were out in the field for a long time talking: he was sitting with his legs out in front of him, ankles crossed as he leaned back on his elbows so the sun could warm his face. I lay beside him, hands behind my head staring up the puffy clouds. Every now and then I would catch him staring at me slightly, but the second I noticed he would look away and smile to himself,

"What's the circus like?" I asked, rolling onto my side so I could see him better,

"It's fun," he shrugged slightly, looking at me from the corner of his eye in only a way Gill could make alluring,

"Fun how?" I encouraged, wanting to know more,

"There are animals, rides… almost everyone comes to it. Owen usually drinks too much, but that's pretty much every night," I laughed loudly and he grinned down at me, "Are you excited?" He raised his eyebrows,

"Mmhmm," I nodded, falling onto my back once more, my hands now playing with the grass at my sides, "I've never been to one,"

"You'll have fun, it's more of a little kid thing, but that's good once and while," Gill smiled at me, but as soon as he did, it faded, "The circus has a new ringleader though, it used to be someone else when my mom took me. I don't really know what happened to him, but the new one lost all the animals the first time he showed up. Luckily Yuuki brought them all back quickly and everyone could still go, and no one was hurt. It was really irresponsible of that guy to even let that happen though, he should have realized the responsibility he had to the island when he brought them here! People could have gotten hurt, especially with an elephant running around!" Gill was clearly upset, so I sat up and smiled at him,

"I love the way you care about the people on this island," He blushed and turned away,

"I… It's not… He should have just… thanks," he finally settled on before turning back to me and sighing, "I wish my dad took his job more seriously," I tilted my head to the side slightly,

"I know being mayor is a big job, but I think if he took it too seriously he would be boring. And then be unhappy, I like Castanet because most people here are not only easy-going, but they care about _people _more than they do about work," I lay back down, but when I looked over at Gill he seemed uneasy, upset even,

"I'm sorry," he breathed, looking away, "I don't mean to care more about work then people…"

"What?" I laughed quickly, "You care about people! You may not always know how to show it… but that's why you take work so seriously; your work is making sure the island runs right so people are okay. I know that, don't be silly," I jumped on him, knocking him over in a hug/tackle. He laughed quietly and tousled my hair, before sighing and pushing me off playfully,

"I'd better get home, my father will start to spread rumors if I don't," he scowled, but I was puzzled,

"He'll spread rumors? Why? About what?" I furrowed my eyebrows, trying to figure this out. Gill just looked blankly over at me, before crossing his arms and gazing into the distance,

"My father…" he paused and looked at me for a moment, when I said nothing he decided he should go on, "He really wants me to… I don't know… be dating someone? But not just that…" He closed his eyes, clearly frustrated, "It's like he wants the whole village to know that dear Gillian isn't single, and I don't want you to have to deal with all that kind of trouble… but it's not even that… I just… ugh," he stood up suddenly and I jumped back a little, startled, "I don't understand what he wants from me! One second it's do all your work, the next it's find a wife, have a kid!" He froze suddenly his eyes fixing on me; I could feel the blush rising to my cheeks but couldn't find the right words to say: all of this seemed to come out of nowhere. Gill started backtracking frantically, "I mean, no I don't want you to be my wife, I mean, it's not that I don't want that, it's too soon, I mean, no I don't I just, I like you! And I don't want anything to—I didn't mean that we should—I just wanted-," I stood up slowly, smiling as Gill sputtered some more. I slowly took wrapped my arms around his neck and planted a soft kiss on his lips. He froze, but soon I felt him relax, his hands found my waist and he kissed me back, gently. I pulled back and smiled at him sweetly,

"I know," I grinned, "I like you too," Gill blushed before stepping back and adjusting his vest,

"Good. I'm sorry; I didn't mean to just go off like that…" He scuffed the ground with the tip of his shoe. I reassured him once more before waving him goodbye. It was already past dusk, and I figured I might as well go to bed early so that the circus would come sooner: that being said, I couldn't sleep. Of course.

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**I'm sorry if it seems like hardly anything happened in this chapter: I assure you the next chapter is very eventful, but like I said, I had to split it up. Please Review! You'll be my very most favorite if you do :D Love you guys!**


	17. Chapter 17, This Can't Be Happening

**Here you are! The wait was worth it (I hope) A bit of a longer chapter here. Anywhoo, I hope you all like it :D Don't forget to review! And yes, as I've said: You reviewers are DEFSKII'S my most favorites ;D**

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I woke up easily the next morning, excited for what the day would hold. I hummed happily to myself as I watered my new crops and took care of Gary and Betty. My chickens clucked happily as I sprinkled feed in front of each of them: I nuzzled them individually this time, making sure they couldn't overpower me like they had done yesterday; the last thing I wanted was to be late for the circus.

I arrived at the church grounds at promptly 3 pm and met a very handsome looking Gill, wearing black slacks and a grey casual suit jacket. It hung open with a black skinny tie hanging nicely around his neck, causing elegant contrast between it and his white dress shirt. I eyed him approvingly,

"You look sharp," I grinned as he offered me his arm,

"I could say the same for you: that's a beautiful dress," I had worn my black Victorian dress that my mother had given me when I turned eighteen; I was always rather fond of the way it hung around my shoulders. It had a matching black headband that fit daintily on my head: I could never work wearing such a thing, and tonight was a great excuse to pull it out of the closet. I still remember the joy I felt when I had found it wasn't destroyed in the fire. I took Gills arm and smiled at him as he led me towards the group of people gathered outside. Kathy was chatting up Owen, as per usual, while Yuuki and Renee made goo-goo eyes at each other: I suppressed a gag. Kathy perked up the second she saw me,

"You're finally here! I thought you were going to miss all the fun," she exclaimed, throwing one of her arms around my neck and hugging me, "Tonight is going to be so much fun!"

"Hey Gill," Owen smiled politely at my date, to which Kathy gave him the thumbs up. Gill smiled back,

"Hello Owen," I gritted my teeth, hoping there would be no tension between the two of them tonight. Owen walked over to Gill and much to my surprise, clapped him on the back while grinning,

"Finally got the girl I see!" He laughed his booming laugh and Gill joined in, obviously feeling a little awkward, but still being friendly. I smiled at the two of them: things were working out nicely. We walked into the circus and I was met, for the first time in my life, with a rather tall and bright yellow giraffe. I grinned at the giant creature, watching Chloe slide down its neck repeatedly. Owen would usually catch her and then throw her into the air. Kathy stood beside him clapping her hands and laughing along with them.

"He's such a good brother," I sighed, my eyes feeling glossy,

"Well that's not _really_ his sister," Gill said, running his hand through his hair, "but he's a good cousin. They're close enough that they could be brother and sister: that's why he just tells everyone they are. Neither of them have any family left, besides Ramsey" he shook his head and I looked back at Owen, pondering. My train of thought was cut short by the sounds of an argument coming from a large group of people walking towards us. I knew right away Chase and Maya were included here,

"Just go eat something Maya, leave me alone!" Chase was trying feebly to pull his arm out from Maya's grasp, but was not successful,

"Chase, come on, just hold my hand for a little while!" She pleaded, her braids bouncing slightly,

"No! Seriously, I can't believe you even convinced me to come to this," he made a face, "I hate this kind of thing,"

"Just relax, you think _I _enjoy being somewhere like this?" Selena said as she quickened her pace so she was standing on the other side of Chase as they walked towards us, "Just bring on the booze, that'll make it better," she rolled her eyes before stretching her arms out above her, "I might be able to pick up a little cash here though: busking and all that,"

"I'll give you ten bucks if you busk right now, for me," Luke had appeared beside her, and stretched his arm around her shoulders flirtatiously. Selena just scowled at him,

"Add a zero to the end and you're on," she winked before spinning out from under his arm. She had almost gotten away and had started her taunting laugh when Luke caught her wrist and pulled her into him. Her blush was deep enough that you could see it through her olive skin as she looked away from Luke's eyes, his face only centimeters away from her own,

"Don't be like that," Luke teased, wrapping his other arm around her waist. Everyone was staring at them, waiting to see what would happen and it was quite obvious that Luke knew this fact. Selena's eyes narrowed, a smirk appearing on her lips,

"Do you want me to kiss you?" she said, her voice dropping an octave, adding more allure then seemed necessary. Luke pursed his lips momentarily before staring down at her,

"Haven't you ever heard of playing hard to get?" He laughed loudly before releasing her, "But nope. I don't want you to kiss me just so you can prove to everyone here how bold and tempting you are," Selena's expression darkened, clearly angry. Luke must have hit the nail on the head with that one,

"You're an ass," she spat at him, turning around and sticking her nose in the air. Luke just laughed again,

"As true as that may be, I'm going to earn the right to kiss you anytime I want," He grinned at her and her expression softened slightly,

"w-what?" she stammered. Luke just shrugged before pointing his finger at her,

"You're going to be my wife someday!" He shouted loudly. Now everyone in the circus turned to look at them. Maya, Kathy, Selena, Renee and I's mouths all dropped open simultaneously. I could see Jake and Coleen at a few exhibits over chuckling quietly and Luke's father turned from the cotton candy stand to smack himself in the forehead. Owen and Yuuki burst into laughing fits while Gill and Chase both sighed, shaking their heads.

"_Excuse me?"_ Selena whispered, furious,

"Oh," Luke blinked, "You didn't hear me? I'll yell it louder," He drew a deep breathe but Selena cut him off,

"I heard you idiot! Everyone heard you! I'm not going to be anyone's wife, let alone _yours!" _She got louder as she spoke and ended up becoming rather indignant. Luke just snickered,

"Maybe we should all just… uh…" Kathy stepped in, which I think everyone was thankful for. The two had already made a big enough scene,

"I'm going home!" Selena stomped her foot before letting out a string of profanities as she stormed off,

"I'll walk you home!" Luke jogged after her, laughing loudly as she threw insults his way. I sighed and shook my head,

"Well... that was… Interesting," I chuckled. Owen erupted with laughter and soon everyone else joined in,

"That was pretty stupid of him," Maya said once we had all calmed down, "Selena would never go for a guy who embarrassed her in front of the whole town: I think Luke just dug his own grave," She pulled on one of her braids, making a face,

"No," Chase shook his head, "Selena likes attention… it was probably actually a good move by Luke. No matter how obnoxious it was," he smiled slightly.

We all shared a few more laughs, but soon enough everyone had coupled off. Kathy and Owen went off to see the Lion, and from what I could hear, Owen was taking great amusement in hearing it roar whenever he taunted it. Chase and Maya decided to look at the special food being served while Renee and Yuuki decided to visit the Zebras; I could hear Renee cooing over a little monkey that must have been in the same pen. Gill led me over to the large tent set up right in the middle of the whole festival. I was amazed by all the lights and music everywhere; everything seemed so grand!

"The show will start pretty soon," he explained, sitting down on one of the benches that were set up to face a stage, "The ring leader comes out and does a show will all the animals," He smiled at me, pausing for a moment, "Are you having fun so far?" I nodded at him and he grinned down at me,

"It's the best circus I've been to ever," I returned the smile,

"It's the _only _circus you've been to,"

"Exactly," I winked at him. He rolled his eyes at me before laughing quietly, "Are _you _having a good time?" I asked, snuggling a little closer to him. He looked down at me, his ice blue eyes caught mine and I felt myself melt a little. He smiled down at me for a moment before answering,

"It's the best so far," he whispered. I felt a shiver run through my spine as his eyes moved down to the spot just below my nose. He moved toward me slowly, glancing at my eyes then back to my lips quickly before catching my mouth with his. His hand came up to just below my chin and I felt his fingers traced across my jaw and back into my hair. He pulled away briefly, chuckling quietly before placing another chaste kiss on my lips and then leaning back and looking over at the stage. I caught my breathe for a moment, "the show is starting," he smiled back at me and I tore my eyes away from him to the stage,

"I'm excited," I grinned, feeling my stomach lighten, I wanted to see this show very much, and all the hype from everyone just made it seem so much better. A few large lights twirled around the stage, splashing the area around it with purple, green, yellow and blue light.

"Welcome!" I heard a voice say loudly, I looked down at the ring leader and felt my eyes bulge, my stomach twisting into a tight knot, "To Theodore's circus of wonder! I am the ringmaster, Theodore!" A familiar red top hat, red coat wearing short little man stood in the middle of the ring. I felt myself start to shake and my mouth get dry.

_Theodore… Mayor Theodore. _

My hands tightened to fists and I froze. I couldn't move,

_He found me? No._

He was just the ringmaster of a circus, surely it couldn't really be him, was my mind just playing tricks on me? I swallowed hard. Gill was looking down at me,

"What's wrong?" he whispered into my ear, his face now worried. I couldn't speak; I just shook my head quickly, my eyes never leaving the man who had been the mayor of my town before I left. Gill's eyebrows furrowed as Theodore called out the Zebra and monkey. I could see the others now filtering in to the circus. Renee and Yuuki were laughing; Owen had his arm around Kathy as she leaned into him. Even Chase and Maya seemed to be a couple as she fed him some cotton candy. My eyes started to brim with tears,

_This can't be happening._

"Hikari?" Gill grabbed my hand, but I still couldn't look away. I felt a single tear spill over and run down my face, "Shit," Gill breathed. He stood up, lifting me by the arm so I could stand but I couldn't move. My body wouldn't let me; all I was doing was re-living everything from my past. I couldn't stop thinking about the flames… my parents screams… Kurt…

"No!" I heard myself scream, "Please! No!" everyone turned to look at me but I didn't really notice, I had been discovered and Kurt was sure to be on his way soon. If Theodore knew, then he must have known. Suddenly I was lifted off my feet and felt wind rushing by my face. When I was finally put down, Gill hovered over me,

"Hikari, what's wrong? What happened?" He was so upset… I couldn't say anything. I wanted to tell him it would be alright but I didn't think I could lie that convincingly,

"Theodore," I breathed, "my mayor," I felt myself erupt with sobs as Gill's eyes widened. He glanced back at the tent, only about twenty yards from where we were.

"Hikari? Is that you?" It was Theodore. He must have followed us out, which meant the show had been canceled… or stopped abruptly. I shouldn't have screamed before…

"Yes," I mouthed, standing to my feet. I held Gill for support and he looked down at me, worry smeared across his face.

"This is where you've been?" he said, grinning at me. It made me feel sick, seeing that expression, "I thought I would never see you again! Oh everyone will be so happy to know that you're here! You're so close… just think about Ann, Blue… and Kurt! What will they think?" He grinned once more but I felt my eyes widen,

"You can't!" I shouted, shutting my eyes tightly, "You can't tell anyone!"

"What? But I—" Theodore started,

"Listen," Gill interrupted him, his voice was gravelly and low, "You will _not _tell anyone Hikari is here," He said stepping towards Theodore. I had never seen him like this and the former mayors eyes widened as he stared up at the white blonde,

"You don't understand," Theodore said, "So many people miss her, and it's my duty as mayor to—"

"You're still mayor?" I asked softly, none of this made any sense to me. Why was Theodore here? Why was he with the circus?

"Well yes dear," he said blinking quickly, "I run this circus as a way to make more money for Flower Bud village. I started it as a hobby but once you're parents farm burned down… you've no idea how much more sustaining our island needed," He took off his hat and brushed off the dust, "Hikari, you should come home now, I think you've run away long enough. Your island needs you in order to be successful. We don't have the farming commodities that we did when your parents ran their farm. Come back, we need the money,"

"She's not going anywhere," Gill said, his hands tightening into fists, "So I suggest leaving. Immediately," he spat through gritted teeth. Theodore took a step back, shooting Gill a dirty look,

"Well Hikari, we'll all be waiting…" he smiled before turning and walking away. He took about fifteen paces before turning back, "They'll all be so happy to know I've found you," he hurried off back to the circus as I felt my legs give way under my weight, Gill turned around sharply and the thing I remember before everything going black was his anxious expression,

"Hikari!"

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**Oh the drama in this chapter, it's all just so... so... so... delicious. :P What can i say, i'm a sucker for angst and fluff. Don't forget to let me know what you think! REvieeeewwwww! Love you guys!**


	18. Chapter 18, Are we Lovers?

**Well, I know you were all waiting with baited breath for this! Here it is! The next chapter :O haha. I hope you like it, sorry if you don't. **

**First off, in case you haven't noticed already, I write the bar and the inn as the same place (like it T.O.T) I'm quite fond of the way they had it in that game and frankly, it makes for better drama. The characters all get a much better chance to interact with each other in my opinion. If you haven't noticed that I've done this in previous chapters, Sorry for the confusion: probably should have made this fact clear in the beginning ;P**

**lOL! So yes, when you hear my characters saying 'the bar' and 'the inn' interchangably, that is why. They are the same place :) This chapter is extra long, it seems only fitting that my a/n should be too :P (Longest chapter yet) and i'm sorry if it's too Kathy/Owen centric: building drama and all that. **

**REVIEWWWWWWWW :)**

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My eyes shot open and I sat up quickly, tearing off the covers violently. I jumped from the unfamiliar bed and started running headlong towards the door. I didn't know where I was, but I knew it wasn't safe: If Kurt knew where I was, I wasn't safe. I had almost made it out of the room when someone caught me around the waist. His arms wrapped around me, and I was stopped abruptly.

"No!" I screamed, pulling myself away, "Kurt, no I'm sorry!" I screamed again, still trying to escape,

"Hikari, calm down! It's me, it's not Kurt: Listen to me! Stop struggling!" but the words didn't seem to make sense me: I kicked him in the stomach with the back of my foot. I felt his arms loosen their grip and I shook him off violently. He fell back and I stumbled towards to the door, getting my footing back I ran down the wooden staircase. My lungs burned and I realized tears were plastered to my face, was I really still screaming?

"Hikari?" _A blonde… Kathy..? _I stopped suddenly and stared wide-eyed at the cowgirl, "What's wrong? Are you hurt?" She stepped towards me tentatively, raising her hand slowly towards my face. I flinched slightly as she brushed the hair away from my cheek, "it's okay," she soothed. My eyes darted around quickly…

_The bar? _

"Why am I here?" I whispered: I couldn't find my full voice. It hurt to speak. She looked at me, concern painted across her face. She pursed her lips for a second before holding out her index finger to me,

"Just a second," She smiled but it seemed insincere, "Owen," she called back behind her. The familiar blacksmith appeared after a few moments, rubbing his eyes sleepily,

"What's up Kathy… it's really late so I—Oh, Hikari, you're up," He seemed to wake up immediately upon seeing me standing there. I shifted my weight, wrapping my arms tightly around my torso,

_Kurt could be here at any time, I have to leave. _My eyes darted to the door quickly, but Owen followed my gaze,

"Seriously? Why would you even try that…?" Owen yawned and stretched his arms up above his head before sauntering over to Kathy and I, conveniently standing in between me and the door.

"Hikari, why don't you go back upstairs and get some sleep?" Kathy suggested, taking my shoulders in each of her hands.

_Upstairs? _

"No!" I stepped away from her, my eyes becoming large, "No, someone's up there!" My mind flashed back to my earlier escape. Owen looked at Kathy, whose expression seemed just as frightened as mine was.

"Do you think he got past Gill?" She breathed,

"It's only been like eight hours, he couldn't have gotten here that fast," Owen said this, but was suddenly headed up the stairs, taking them two at a time. He disappeared onto the top floor and Kathy led me over to an empty table. The bar was dark and empty, I had never seen it like this: it sent shivers down my spine.

"Why are you awake?" I suddenly realized how strange this all was, "And why aren't you at home? Why isn't Owen at home? Will Owen be okay? Why aren't I at home?" My breathing became unsteady and choppy. Kathy simply smiled,

"It's okay, and don't worry about Owen: he can look out for himself... Trust me," She winked before her quiet smile returned, "Hikari, do you remember the circus?" She waited as I nodded slowly, my breathing steading again.

"Theodore..." I whispered, feeling a hot tear spill down my cheek, "Kurt is coming isn't he?"

"We don't know," Kathy said plainly, obviously trying to disguise the severity of the situation, "But you fainted, so we decided you should stay here tonight. Gill was all bend outta shape about it so Owen and I agreed to stick around. Stupid sleepy blacksmith on the other-hand went to bed, leaving me out here alone," She pouted but it seemed off. Kathy was putting on a show and wasn't very good at doing it. I was just about to make that remark when I heard a booming laugh from above us. Owen was walking back down the stairs, followed by an unhappy looking Gill,

"You got your ass handed to you by a _girl_," Owen tilted his head back and laughed again,

"Okay, first of all, she works on a farm so she's tough, and secondly I did not get my-Hikari!" Gill rushed over to my side the second he saw me, "Are you okay?" He knelt beside the chair I was sitting in and took my hand in his,

"That was you?" I asked quietly, my eyebrows furrowing... everything seemed so cloudy now...

"Yeah," he let out a breath of air resembling a laugh, but soon became serious again, "You were having a nightmare I think," He brought my hand to his mouth and kissed it lightly, "Are you okay now?" I blinked a few times before throwing my arms around his neck, pulling him towards me. I sobbed into his shoulder heavily. I don't know how long we stayed like that… He somehow managed to stand, and was carrying me back into the room bridal style... I must have fallen asleep on his shoulder. The nightmares didn't stop.

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Kathy's P.O.V

I wasn't really sure what was going on, but I didn't like it. One second, everyone is sitting watching the circus: Owen's got his arm around me and I'm loving it. The next, Hikari is screaming, Gill is carrying her out of the tent and the Ringleaders eyes are like dinner plates,

"Hikari?" Theodore had shouted as Gill left with her. He ran out after them, shouting her name and laughing.

"So... I guess the circus is canceled?" Owen leaned over, whispering in my ear while laughing quietly. I shot him a dirty look but he just sighed, "Yeah, let's follow them,"

"Thanks," I smiled at him, again happy that Owen knew me so well... it seemed better than I knew myself sometimes. He followed a few paces behind as I hurried quickly out of the tent after Gill. It took us a little while to find them but when we did Hikari was laying on the ground and Gill was frantic as he held her on his lap. After a few minutes of him tip-toeing around the subject, he finally explained what was going on. I could tell he was worried about whether he should reveal Hikari's past, but after finding out she had already told me her story he was more than willing to tell us what went down,

"So Kurt is probably coming," I breathed, tugging on my hair.

"Whose Kurt?" Owen asked stupidly; Gill and I were too preoccupied to notice,

"I would assume as much, if Theodore tells Kurt than I don't see why he wouldn't come after her,"

"Why would he come after her?" Owen was ignored again,

"Well... do we know when he's going to back Flower Bud village?" I asked, crinkling my nose,

"Where's Flower Bud village?"

"It's difficult to say when he will," Gill closed his eyes, pressing his fingers to his temples, "It could be weeks, it could be hours: he might not even tell them at all,"

"Do you think she's in trouble?" I asked, looking down at Hikari's face: this was one of my best friends. I had to help kick the crap out of Kurt.

"Why would she be in trouble?" Owen. I sighed heavily,

"Like I said, I don't know. But if I meet this Kurt guy he-"

"DAMMIT TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON!" Owen suddenly shouted, making himself look more like a big buffoon than usual. Gill and I stared at him for a few seconds before I rolled my eyes,

"Don't be such a princess Owen, I'll fill you in at the bar," I sighed,

"The bar?" Gill asked,

"Yeah, well I mean, it would make more sense for her to stay there tonight right? We can make sure she wakes up okay, and _if _Kurt decides to show up, we'll see him before she does," I shrugged and Owen glared at me, obviously frustrated. I couldn't really imagine why though, he usually didn't seem to care about going along with a plan: even if the details were few. Gill paused for a moment before nodding,

"You're right, it'll be better for her to wake up with us around: I don't want her to panic or anything. As for Kurt," He said his expression darkening, "We don't even know if he will show up, and I'm quite positive it won't be this soon if he does. We need to think of a better plan that can last a little longer: but for tonight, yes, she should stay at the Inn," he nodded briefly to himself before gathering Hikari in his arms. I smiled at him in approval: he really did care about Hikari, and I was happy that one my best friends was being looked after by such a good guy. I gave him an awkward side hug, wanting to express my appreciation for him. Gill blushed and mumbled something I couldn't quite make out.

Owen didn't say anything as we walked to the Inn. Even as I filled in Jake and Colleen about the situation (with minimal detail) he remained silent. It freaked me out; Owen was the loud one, he was always either sympathizing with me, offering advice, or laughing his loud, warm laugh. But now he was quiet. Gill had put Hikari to bed, and was staying with her until she woke up: I warned him that I wouldn't tolerate any Hanky-Panky if he was staying up there with her, to which he sputtered an embarrassed affirmation about how he,

"Would never even think of-" to which I laughed loudly. I expected Owen to chyme in, but he didn't. We walked back down to the bar in silence again. He sat down at a barstool, looking away from me,

"Okay, I can tell you why this is all happening now," I said, crossing my arms and leaning my back on the bar beside him. He just looked away,

"I don't care," he mumbled,

"What do you mean you 'don't care,' don't give me that crap," I laughed but it soon died away when I realized he wasn't kidding, "What's with you?" I sighed, frustrated.

"Nothing,"

"Tell me,"

"No,"

"Come on,"

"It's nothing!"

"Owen!" I stomped my foot, frustrated, "It's me!" He sighed before turning to face me, shaking his head,

"I don't like it," He said, staring at the ground,

"Don't like what?"

"I don't like..." He paused for a moment and looked up at my face, "You having all this little secrets with Gill, what the hell is with that Kathy? It's like you two always have something going on that I can't know about," I stared at him, dumbfounded.

"What the heck are you talking about," I asked, putting my fierce face on; wishing it still worked on Owen,

"Whatever," He said, turning back to the bar, "Give me some scotch or something," I barked a laugh at him,

"Like hell I'm getting you a drink. It's my night off, and by the way, you're being a jerk," I pushed myself off the bar and started walking into the kitchen. I stopped short of the door, turning towards him, "And by the way Owen, the only reason I have 'secrets' with Gill is because Hikari decided to tell both of us what was going on in her life," Owen looked over at me, clearly upset. I felt my heart wrench a little, a feeling I hardly felt: working in a bar did that to you. I bit my lip apprehensively, taking a step towards him and exhaling, "Hikari..."

"You don't have to tell me," Owen interrupted, standing up and pulling himself over the top of the bar. He nearly vaulted over and I heard his boots hit the floor with a loud Thunk. I watched him in silence as he reached up for the glass bottle filled with thick brown liquid,

"Hikari's parents died in a fire and everything was gone, a week later her boyfriend beat the crap out of her and she ran away," I said it all rather quickly, and loudly. Owen's eyes grew wide as he put the bottle down on the bar,

"And that guy is Kurt?" He asked evenly, his anger had seemed to evaporate,

"Yeah," I breathed, walking back over to the bar, "And Theodore was the mayor: if he goes back and tells Kurt she's here... well... She didn't tell him she was leaving: just kinda... did. He's probably pissed," I sat down on the stool and pulled off the stopper of the bottle, "I just don't want Hikari to get hurt, yah know?" I took a swig and winced. Owen chuckled slightly at my reaction to the strong drink as I handed it over to him. He took a swing before leaning his arms on the bar across from me. There was a small distance between us,

"How about I kill him?" He asked, grinning a little,

"That'd be very good, thanks," I said, returning the smile. He reached up and brushed my left cheek with his fingers,

"Sorry," he mumbled, closing his eyes and leaning his forehead against mine, "I didn't mean to freak out. I just don't like it when you have secrets with other guys," His forehead was warm, and I grinned at the Blacksmiths expression. Owen really was the greatest. His eyes opened slowly and he leaned back, grinning his stupid grin again,

"It's okay," I said, taking another drink from the bottle, I coughed a little, "Jealous Owen is pretty cute," I winked at him as he took the bottle once more. He smiled slightly,

"So we're camping out here for the night?" He asked, taking a much longer drink than I had,

"Seems that way," I stood up and brushed my skirt off, "It's probably going to be boring," I tugged at my hair, removing a few blonde strands. I watched them float slowly to the floor,

"Well then, let's do something great!" he suddenly bellowed, jumping to stand on top of the bar,

"Owen! Get down! You'll wake up Hikari," I grabbed his hand and tugged fruitlessly on his arm. He just laughed,

"Fine, be boring," He jumped down and sat on the barstool, "Get me a glass, I feel gross just drinking out of this," he said, swirling the glass bottle around in his hand before taking another drink. I smiled at him lightly,

"Not happening," I winked, "Like I said, night off. Circus and all that," Owen blinked at me twice before leaning towards me,

"Are we lovers?" he whispered,

"What?" I gasped, stepping backwards, _Where the heck is this coming from?_

"At the flower festival Selena said we were lovers, remember?" He grinned at me stupidly,

"I don't remember," I lied, walking through the kitchen to be behind the counter, fetching Owen a glass: I didn't want to be having this conversation right now, "You were probably drunk," A fairly common excuse that I would use with Owen, one that usually worked too. I poured the liquid into the tumbler.

"I wasn't, I remember. You wouldn't kiss me," He brought his glass up to his mouth but paused before it touched. He held it suspended as he looked up at me, "Am I really that bad?" I blinked at him, frozen,

"N-no," I sputtered, "It's not..." I stopped, wanting Owen to cut me off, wanting him to laugh and say he was kidding... I didn't want to tell him like this: tipsy Owen blabbering on about how we were lovers. It just seemed so... stereotypical that a barmaid should have to hear it like this. He just looked at me, waiting to hear my answer. I stomped my foot, "Nope, not happening,"

"What do you mean?" he blinked,

"This is not how this is going to be," I slid over the top of the bar quickly to stand beside him. Stupid big blacksmith was the same height as me sitting down when I was standing up. It didn't seem fair, "I'm not going to just... pour my heart out to some drunken-"

"I'm not drunk," he grinned, "I can hold my liquor, I'm not a five foot nothing skinny, blonde waitress," he laughed loudly and I sighed, shooting him a glare,

"So help me I will cut you off right now," I threatened reaching for his glass. He held it out of my reach and laughed again,

"When is Hikari going to wake up? I'm bored of having to deal with the help here, they're moody and can't say how they really feel," I chose to ignore the last part of his comment,

"She's only been sleeping for like two hours Ore-for-brains."

"I'm trying to be funny here Kathy," He rolled his eyes,

"Yeah, _trying _being the key word," He glared at me and I laughed in a way I knew he would appreciate.

"You're a tease,"

"You're a drunk,"

"At least I'm fun,"

"I can be fun!" I leaned in to shout in his face but he just chuckled,

"_Prove it_," he stood up to tower over me, his stupid smile that I liked way too much still plastered on his face. I paused for a moment, pursing my lips,

"Well," I said, leaning towards him, my best Selena face on, "I could..." I saw the light pink rise into his cheeks: a look I knew few had seen from Owen. It made me almost feel bad about the fact that there was no way in hell I was letting him off that easy, "But I'd rather not,"

"What? Why?" He sputtered, clearly disappointed,

"I have to differentiate myself between Selena, and as much as I know you love her-"

"I don't love Selena," he interrupted, taking another swallow of his drink.

"Okay, sorry, as much as every man in this town fondles her with their eyes, you included, I don't want to be that girl that just makes out with every random drunk guy that comes waltzing in here-"

"They don't, I don't, she doesn't and don't be difficult," He drank again, finishing his glass, "I'm not just some guy that came waltzing in here," He turned to look at me, flashing me his smile, "I'm _the _guy who came waltzing in here," I scowled at him but he stepped in front of me, taking a few quick steps so that I was pinned between him and the bar,

"Don't be stupid," I said, making a face up at him, "You're _Owen. _Stupid, goofy, drunken Owen," I looked up expecting him to back off, or at least look a little hurt. Instead he wrapped his arms around my waist and leaned in, resting his forehead on top of mine again,

"Yeah," He breathed, his eyes closed but his smile still there, "And you're Kathy. Smart, perfect, gorgeous Kathy," It wasn't sarcastic: which surprised me considerably. He pulled me in tight and embraced me in a tight bear hug. I felt my arms wrap around him in return and nuzzled my head into the crook of his neck,

"Guess so," I mumbled happily, standing on my tippy toes to plant a soft, warm kiss squarely on his lips. It was short, not an super intense harlequin romance kinda kiss, just a nice, simple, easy one. Owen grinned, and I moved away from him, nervously tucking my hair behind my ear. He looked at me for a moment and then yawned.

"I'm tired, I worked hard today. Mind if I crash for a while?" He playfully tousled my hair as he walked over to the back room,

"Whatever, if I get attacked by a crazy ex-boyfriend of Hikari's, my blood is on your hands," I winked at him as he tilted his hand back and laughed,

"Trust me, no one would mess with you. You're scary," He laughed again before disappearing into the back room. He peaked his head out from the door quickly, "Oh, and thanks for the kiss," he winked at me and I felt myself flush,

"Yeah... well... it doesn't mean I'm your girl!" I shouted back, picking up his glass and bringing it over to the kitchen. I heard Owen laugh loudly as the door shut behind him. I sat at the bar for about an hour, I only fell asleep once, but I must have slept for a bit. I didn't wake up until I heard a clatter from upstairs. Hikari was screaming loudly and she soon thundered down the stairs.

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**I know, I know, I'm terrible! I introduce the possibilty that Kurt could be coming back, and dash your hopes by writing a chapter that is very OwenxKathy, FORGIVE ME! **

**I love this pairing very much (If you haven't already noticed). Two stubborn people fighting each others stubborness. It's awesome.**

**Do not fear, my readers, for I will soon do another chapter and it will be awesome,**

**Tell me what you thought! Review! Love you guys!**


	19. Chapter 19, Leaving

**Wow I'm terrible! I can't even believe myself, I haven't updated in SO LONG! GUUUH I'm SO SORRY! Well I hope you can forgive me, I really like this chapter so hopefully you will too :3 Again, my most sincere apologies. Forgive me! Don't forget to review! **

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Everything was packed tightly in my big brown suitcase. I sat on the edge of my bed, tears clouding my vision. This was the only way... right? I sighed heavily and pushed my front door open. It was dark: around eleven, as I dragged my luggage down through Harmonica town. I was going to meet Pascal, I already had it all planned out. I still remeber my conversation with the unhappy captian,

"_But you've only been here for one season," Pascal chewed on his pipe nervously, "Don't you like it here?"_

"_I love it here," I choked back tears, "But I can't stay." _

"_Well, why do you have to leave so suddenly?" His eyes showed genuine concern, it wrenched my heart even more, _

"_Maybe someday I'll come back," I hoped that was true. The captian was clearly unhappy with my answer,_

"_But you've been getting along so well, I thought you'd be staying," he furrowed his eyebrows, _

"_Please," I said, my voice breaking a little, "Please take me tonight," _

_He nodded after a few minutes, and I rushed home to pack,_

I had packed quickly, in between people coming in and out of my house. Kathy, Gill, Owen, Luke, Yuuki, Renee and even Maya had been stopping by frequently. Everyone knew that something was wrong, most of them knew the whole story. After three days, It was getting to be a bit much. I didn't like that they were always watching me, coming in and out, trying to take care of me. I was strong enough to handle this on my own. I understood that it was nice of them, but all it did was force me to realize what would actually happen if Kurt showed up: the people I had grown to love would be hurt. I couldn't let that happen... Gill was the most frequent to come around, which I'll admit was nice. He wasn't pushy the way most of the girls were, but he wasn't as laid back and non-chalant as Owen and Luke. Luke sometimes got that firey look in his eyes, but then would usually just drown it out with laughter. I was being a downer around Luke and Owen, who were usually peppy and happy. I didn't like it. But Gill just cared about me. I didn't have to pretend to be happy, or pretend to sad, worried... I didn't have to pretend at all. It was just how I felt, that was nice.

But that didn't matter anymore.

What mattered was me keeping everyone safe, and the best way to do that was for me to leave. Same as before, just pack up and get out. This time though, I'd have to go much further away. It wasn't as difficult carrying all my things on the way out, even though I had a considerably more with me than when I had first moved here. Maybe it was because all my recent farm work was really building up muscle; maybe it was just the adrenline rush. I knew that I needed to go quickly, if someone stopped me... I wasn't sure how solid my morale was: I really did love this place and more so the people. But there were a few things I had to take care of first. I put my suitcase down behind the bar and slowly crept around building, ducking to crawl underneath windows. Moving as slowly as possible: there were still voices inside the building. It sounded like Selena and Luna were having an arguemnt. I felt a twing of regret: I wanted to sit in and watch the fun, I wanted to try and calm them down, tell them that they shouldn't be jealous of each other. I heard Kathy's unmistakable laugh and my eyes started to well up,

_I can't do this..._

But I could. I had left an island of friends before, friends I had grown up loving... but it wasn't this hard last time... Maybe it was that I had more responsibility here... I shook my head, whiping my eyes as I pulled out the crinkled note I had written. I stuffed it hasily under the door and ran back, grabbing my suit case and running with as much stealth as I could towards the docks. I weaved in and out from behind buildings, stopping only once for a second as someone passed by. I could hear the familiar footsteps of mayor Hamilton. His steps were hurried and he stumbled past me, not seeing my shadowy figure pressed up against the building,

_Why is he out this late? And walking in the opposite direction of home...?_

My heart was pounding in my chest as I realized he was headed towards my ranch. I hasily darted out from the building and ran headlong to the dock: I could see it, it was so close. My footsteps reverberated aganist the hard cobblestoon of the pathway, my breathing was heavy: so much for stealth. I skirted around the corner nearly toppling over,

_Another set of footsteps behind me?_

I regained my footing at the same time that I realized someone else was here, running towards me, approaching fast,

"Hikari!" The famaliar voice called out to me

I darted up the ramp of the boat, praying Pascal would be there,

"Embark! Please! Go now!" I swung my suitcase hasily over the side of the boat, my eyes frantically scanning the Bridge, feeling a huge wave of relief as I saw the familiar captain behind the wheel. He nodded, concern and fear in his eyes and the ship started backing out from the peir. My eyes scanned the docks for the person I knew had been chasing me down. Gill was running frantically down the boardwalk, only alluminated by the headlights of the boat. His ice blue eyes cut through the darkness and sank into me,

"Hikari!" he yelled again, the boat was now almost at the edge of the pier. My heart sank and the tears started to spill over,

"Don't!" I tried to yell, seeing the fire in his eyes, but my throat was thick with guilt and regret. He took a few long, quick strides before launching himself off the end of the pier, I could hardly see him through the darkness as he jumped through the air, catching himself on the railing of the deck. I heard his dress-shirt tear loudly as he pulled himself over the jagged metal,

"What the hell are you trying to do?" He panted, swinging his legs over, his arms shaking under his own weight. He landed on the deck and I felt my legs collapse underneath myself. He rose, wincing as he looked down at his right arm. Illuminated only from the light cascading out from the Bridge of the boat, thick red blood was oozing from underneath the tears of fabric on his forearm, his eyes quickly darted back up to me and he took a few hard steps closer,

"What the hell," he breathed, repeating his earlier statement. He stood over me, looking down, his eyes shut tightly, "So you're leaving now?"

I nodded slowly, my mouth felt dry and I didn't trust what my voice would sound like. Gill opened his eyes only to hit me with his cold stare, the one I had almost forgotten. He tightened his hands to fists,

"So there's no reason for you to stay here right? No one here is worth staying for?" It was hardly a question. He turned his back to me and took a few strides away, looking out at the black water before dropping his head and realising a small, cold, chuckle, "And here I thought... but no, how stupid,"

"No," I said, my voice squeaking a little,

"What?" he turned his head slightly, but I still couldn't see his face. I was suddenly filled with anger,

"No you moron!" I shouted loudly, kneeling now, "Everyone is worth me leaving! They're worth me protecting! They're worth me taking all these problems away with me! You're worth..." my voice trailed off, and I fixed my gaze to the dark wood of the deck, "leaving," I said inhaling sharply. We stayed in silence for a few minutes that felt like hours before I heard someone clear their throat loudly. My eyes darted to the figure of an older gentleman, chewing on his pipe awkwardly,

"Gillian," he said shifting his weight uncomfortably, "I'll turn around if you tell me to,"

Gill turned towards the man, even in the dark I could see the utterly artifcal smile plastered on his face, "It's okay, I'll go home later,"

"Turn around," I mummbled quietly, lifting my head slightly,

"What?" The two of them chymed together, both evidently suprised.

"Your arm..." I said standing to my feet and stumbling over to Gill. He froze as I took his hand tenderly, raising it to study the damage. It was much worse than I thought it had been: a large gash ran from just below his elbow all the way down his wrist, "You need to get the doctor," I looked away, feeling queesy from the damage. I tried to focus on the sound of the waves slapping against the hull,

"I'm fine," Gill pulled his arm out of my grasp gingerly before turning to face me. He paused for a moment, studying me, but he suddenly gathered me in his good arm. He pulled me tightly into his chest, and I burried my face into his neck, breathing in the scent I thought I'd never smell again after tonight, "Hikari," he finally whispered, his voice shaking, "Don't leave," I felt his body tremble slightly and I filled my hands with fistfulls of his shirt,

"Everyone... I have to protect them..." He dropped his head onto mine, and sighed heavily. Pascal cleared his throat awakwardly again,

"So uh... should I head back... Or..?" He coughed slightly. Gill pulled me back and held me out at arms length, ignoring Pascal,

"So, you're worried about Kurt finding you?" He asked quietly, just stating the obvious. I nodded, my eyes downcast, "Because you're worried that he'll hurt _other_ people?" He chuckled slightly, "You are something else Hikari." I stared back up at him, incredulous,

"What?" I asked, feeling completely lost,

"If Kurt showed up and decided to hurt, lets say, Kathy, he would literarly be alive for twenty seconds. Owen would gut him. In fact, almost anyone on the island would personally murder someone who even _tried_ to harm the people they've all grown up protecting and loving. That's why Castanet is probably the safest place in the world for you!" He laughed louder before becoming serious, "Hikari, I'm included in that. If he shows up, he won't be around for long. I won't let him touch you," he pulled me back into him, and held me for a few moments in silence, "Come home," He finally breathed, "and stay home," I let my weight collapse againt him, a hot tear spilled from my eye, but it was accompanied by a large sigh of relief and a broad grin,

"Lets go home then," I said loud enough for Pascal to hear me. He was more than happy to scurry back into the bridge and turn the ship around. Gill didn't realease me from his grasp, and I was rather content to stay locked in his one armed embrace,

"Hey," he said after a long while. I Stood back and looked up at him, his face bathed in the dim orange light,

"Yeah?"

"Don't ever scare me like that again," He squeezed his eyes together before flicking me in the forehead, "Stupid girl," I blushed

"Sorry..." I mumbled quietly. My gaze fell down to his arm and I felt a pang of guild, "Does it hurt?" I whispered, looking down at the once light blue arm of his shirt, now completely covered in the thick, red-black blood,

"Yeah," he said quietly, letting out a few breaths of awkward laughter. I frowned down at him,

"Reckless boy," I muttered, grabbing his shirt at the shoulder and tearing off the arm in one swift motion. He winced as I slowly removed the stained garmet, ripping it again above where the fabric was wet with blood,

"It was worth it," he said, painfully serious. I glanced up from my work to see his ice blue eyes boaring into me. I gasped slightly at the intensity of his gaze. He took a small step towards me and lifted his good arm up to my face. He ran his fingers lightly across my jaw-line before tilting my face up towards his, my stomach fluttered and I could hear my heart pouding in my ears. He moved slowly towards me, his eyes focused intently on my mouth, but stopped suddenly, as if a thought had just occured to him. His gaze shifted to meet my wide eyed stare,

"W-what is it?" I stammered, feeling my cheeks redden.

"I love you," he said it as if suddenly realizing this himself. He stepped back for a second and looked up at the sky, beaming. I felt my face heat up, no one had ever said that to me and meant it. I mean, I was sure Kurt had thrown the word around but even back then I scoffed him. He never loved me. My parents told me they loved me frequently, but that was different. I had only ever said it to one boy in all my life, and that was Blue when I we were four years old. That didn't count.

Gill grinned at me again, "I love you!" This time he almost shouted, and it was followed by happy laughter. He pressed the palm of his hand into his forehead and laughed again, "I really do, I really love you! I didn' t think this could ever happen to someone like me, I mean, I really love you!" I couldn't help the fact that mouth was being pulled up at the corners into a large smile. He was right,

"I love you too," I beamed back. He ran back over to me, nearly skipping and quickly placed both his hands on either side of my face, kissing me in a very exubrant manner. He pulled away to let out another burst of giddy laughter and I couldn't help but join in. He pulled me back into another passionate kiss. He started to knot his hands through my hair but stopped suddenly and pulled away,

"Oh right, ow, ow, ow," He held his injured arm at the wrist, cradeling it into himself. I laughed lightly and caught my breath briefly before tearing the piece of fabric in my hand once more,

"Come here," I said, holding my arms out to him. he was more then happy to comply, his white blonde hair touseled slightly from all the craziness. The cut was still oozing out blood slightly, and I felt a empty heaviness in the pit of my stomach,

_Don't pass out, don't puke, just fix it_

I shook my head before tying the strips of fabric tightly around his forearm. He winced and let out a string of profanities with each piece I tied, but after much cooing of assurance, he complied. He watched me devilishly out of the corner of his eye as I finished tieing the last one. I couldn't help but giggle,

"Stop staring at me, creepy,"

"Can't help it, I'm in love," He winked before kissing me lightly on the cheek, "Thanks," He said holding up his arm, "But I think you did it wrong," he studied my work closely,

"Whatever, you could have stopped me," I said, crossing my arms. He just chuckled,

"We're back," he breathed, "Luckily we hadn't gotten too far," He went over and tried to pick up my suitcase in his good arm, but made a face once he realized the weight of it,

"I'll get it," I laughed and rolled my eyes dramatically, "I'm strong and stuff, don't worry,"

The boat pulled up to the dock and he walked slowly down the ramp, making sure I was following. Pascal waved us off, advising us to head straight to the doctors. It was past midnight, and I had to pull Gill towards Jin's house, I didn't care that it was the middle of the night, I didn't want his arm to fall off or something.

I mean, after all... I'm in love with him.

* * *

**Well there you go, I hope you guys liked this, I'm not so sure ;D THEY FINALLY KNOW THEY LOVE EACH OTHER! awwhzzz, Don't forget to review. I love nothing more than hearing what you guys think! They encourage me to update extra fast times ;P Each reviewer as a little piece of my heart reserved soley for them ;D LOVE YOU GUYS!**


	20. Chapter 20, You're Being Dramatic

_WOW I'M TERRIBLE! guuh it took me so long to update D: well now that I finally have I promise I'll update again really soon D: Don't hate me! I'm sorry! _

_School just sucks the life right outta you. Oie. _

_ANYWAY, here is chapter 20! Wooot. I Hope you enjoy, i will be posting chap 21 VERY soon :D SO look forward to it ;D _

* * *

I banged on the door again, this time with more intensity,

"You're being dramatic," Gill mumbled from beside me, "I'll just get it looked at tomorrow, all this fuss..." He trailed off when I banged on the door once more, ignoring his four thousandth complaint about not waking up Jin. I glared at him and he glared right back, I'm sure his was scarier; he had more practice. This thought made me bark an awkward laugh and Gill's expression changed from angry to confused, "Sometimes I wonder what goes on underneath that brown hair," He mumbled, leaning against the house,

"It's probably better that you don't know," I laughed again, "Who sleeps this freaking heavily, by the way?" I kicked the door in frustration, now shouting, "WAKE UP DAMMIT!"

"Again with the drama," Gill sighed before rolling his eyes, "You're going to wake up the whole island," He shook his head, letting his white blond hair hang around his eyes. My eyes trailed down to his arm, hanging limp beside him. The make shift bandages I had tied around the wound were now covered in blood. I didn't understand how Gill was so calm about the whole thing... and about how much blood he had lost.

"How are you feeling?" I said quietly, looking down at my now shifting feet,

"Tired," He yawned slightly, closing his eyes. I felt that familiar guilt in my stomach once more,

"I'm sorry this happened," I breathed, not able to look up at him, "I shouldn't have-"

"No, you shouldn't have," Gill interrupted me, sounding angry. I cringed slightly, knowing he was right. We were silent for a moment before Gill sighed, "But you didn't leave after all," He said quietly. I let my eyes wander to his face. His gaze was fixed on the sky, looking at the stars I assumed, "Just don't do anything like that ever again, Okay?" He turned to look at me; there was a softness in his eyes that I hadn't expected. My breath got caught in the back of my throat but I managed to nod stupidly. He just chuckled before leaning in and placing a chaste kiss on my forehead. I blushed and he smirked at my expression, "Let's just go home," He sighed slightly.

"N-no," I finally managed to find my voice, "You're just going to bleed to death or get Tetanus or something," He laughed, rather loudly,

"I don't think so," He chuckled at my deepening frown. I huffed and turned to the door once more, my knuckles had just touched the wood when it finally opened. Jin stood in the doorway, looking wide awake, maybe a little startled but not drowsy in the least, his glasses where a bit befuddled and he wasn't wearing his normal white lab coat, but his clothing was the same as normal, not sleepwear or anything,

"Hikari?" he asked adjusting his glasses,

"Finally!" I sighed, "What took so long?" I crossed my arms up at him. He fiddled for a moment before looking over at Gill, clearly glad to find an escape from question I just asked, which only made me more suspicious.

"Gill? Why are you—" His eyes darted down to Gill's crudely bandaged arm, "Oh my," He stepped into the night air and took hold of Gill's wrist lightly, lifting it to inspect the damage on his forearm. He mumbled something to himself before sighing, dropping Gills arm lightly and bringing his fingers up to massage his temples, leaning against the doorframe,

"Is everything Okay?" Gill finally asked the distressed doctor,

"Yeah, you're acting like you're going to have to remove is arm or something… Wait… Are you?" My eyes widened at the notion,

"What? Oh good heavens _no_," Jin shook his head and sighed heavily, "What happened exactly?" he asked, gazing up at me,

"Oh… Well… I—uh, that is to say—I—"

"I was being capricious, the metal on the ship's railing got me," Gill rolled his eyes at me and I felt a wave of relief come over me. Jin's eyes went slowly from me to him and then back to me. He finally sighed,

"Then it's unavoidable," He grimaced, "Come in." he walked slowly into his home, beckoning us to follow.

"What's unavoidable?" I whispered to Gill. He raised a brow but simply shook his head, unknowing.

We walked until to the dimly lit living room, my eyes scanned the room and landed on Jin who was standing over a dark figure who was sitting on the couch. Hushed whispers between the two of them. I glanced over at Gill who was smirking. His eyes met mine and I could hear him supress a chuckle,

"Anissa, what a pleasant surprise," Gill said, looking over at the figure on the couch. She stood quickly and stepped sheepishly into the light,

"H-hello Gill, Hikari…" She scuffed the ground with her foot and I felt my jaw drop.

"What are you… doing here?" I asked, my face flushing when I realized how embarrassed she must be.

"Oh! It's not like that!" She said, taking note of my blush, "You see… well… Jin had told me he was running out of Herbs, and I had been growing some on my farm and today was just such a busy day at the shop that I didn't get a chance to bring them to him… and when I did we just got talking and time slipped away and—" She was interrupted by my giggle, "What's so funny?" She asked, more indignant then I thought Anissa could be,

"Nothing!" I defended, putting my hands up in front of me, "It's just cute…" I mumbled before grinning encouragingly at her. She looked shocked for a moment and Jin's expression matched hers perfectly, before it turned into a deep blush,

"You don't… think it's… scandalous?" She asked slowly,

"Scandalous?" Gill asked, "Well you weren't doing anything scandalous were you?" He teased lightly,

"Of course not!" It was Jin who answered this time, although Anissa's mouth was open, ready to defend as well.

"Then no," Gill shrugged, but winced soon after. I brought my hands to his good arm tentatively; he looked over at me and faked a smile. My eyebrows furrowed deeper.

"Jin," I said, my gaze not living Gill's ice-blue eyes.

"Yes, of course. Gill, come here please." Jin shook his head lightly, removing distractions as he showed Gill to a wooden chair at his table, "Anissa, could you fetch my medical bag?" She nodded before hurrying out of the room. Gill sat down, placing his arm on the table just as she returned, placing the black bag on the table. Jin sat at a chair right beside Gill's and began removing the make-shift bandages that I had put in place,

"I will not lie to you Gill: This will probably hurt," He said as he inspected the wound. It took everything in me to hold back the tears I felt rising in my eyes. The guilt that gripped me was unbearable and I turned away from the two quickly.

"Hikari," I heard Gill mumble quietly. I turned slowly, supressing a sob as he held out his good arm for me. I took a steady step towards him and slipped my hand softly into his. He gave it a squeeze before smiling softly at me and pulling me towards him. Jin had started cleaning the wound when I felt a tear slip over my eyelid. Gill smiled up at me through his pain and pulled me closer, his good arm snaking around my waist. I dropped my head a little, so I was only inches away from him,

"I'm sorry," I breathed, trying not to let anymore tears spill over. Gill smiled at me slightly, holding me closer to him,

"Don't be," He mumbled, "Just don't… scare me like that again," I smiled at him before kissing his forehead, letting my lips linger for a little while before Jin cleared his throat. I pulled back and grinned at him sheepishly,

"Okay, you're going to need some stitches," Jin pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose as Anissa handed him a cup of liquid, steam danced around the rim as he handed to it Gill, "Drink this." He instructed. I stepped away as Gill's hand dropped from my lower back to the mug. He drank it quickly and made a face. I could help but smile at his expression,

"Let's get this over with," Gill sighed, bracing himself for the needle and thread Jin had retrieved from his black bag. I sat down beside the chair on the floor and laced my fingers between his tactfully. Resting my head against his leg I gave his hand an encouraging squeeze. He smiled down at me,

"Love you," I whispered up at him. He grinned slightly,

"You better," He winked at me before wincing. The stitching had begun.

* * *

After Jin had finally finished fixing up Gill's arm, we went back to my Ranch to unpack my things. Gill insisted on staying despite my protests but after a little persuasion he had ended up on my couch. Once I knew he was asleep, I slipped out again, this time back to town, to the Bar to be exact. Thankfully, the note I had left was still on the front step, undiscovered by the patrons. Since it was nearly dawn, I snatched it away and returned home post-haste: they didn't need to know about me almost leaving forever. It seemed hard to believe that I had almost run away from this life so easily…

I returned home, creaking the door open as silently as I could and padded my way across the floor.

"I thought you'd run off again," Gill said flatly from his place on the couch. He was sitting now, elbows resting on his thighs tiredly,

"No, I just had to take care of something," I said, holding the note delicately behind my back,

"Well, it's getting to be exhausting making sure you don't run off." His icy blue eyes stared at me from under his platinum blonde bangs.

"Sorry," I said, stuffing the note into my back pocket as stealthily as I could manage, "But I already told you, I'm not going anywhere," I smiled at him as he exhaled, leaning back on the couch. I yawned involuntary, my eyes feeling heavy. It suddenly hit me that I hadn't really slept at all that night. I shook my head slowly; my gaze meeting Gill's once more as he studied me. He sighed again, holding his arms out. One was wrapped tightly in white linen bandage, and his white t-shirt given to him by Jin (why he owned such a thing and never wore it was beyond me, but that's beside the point) clung nicely to his torso.

"Come here," he said soothingly. I complied easily, hurrying over to him and cuddling up beside him on the couch. He chuckled at my eagerness as I let me head rest against his chest softly, "you should rest," he said, his fingers playing with the roots of my hair.

"Mm" I grunted, cuddling up to him a little closer, listening to his steady heartbeat, "You too," I yawned sleepily again, "Good night,"

He laughed quietly, it shaking his chest lightly, "Night Hikari," then I shut my eyes.

* * *

The next few days seemed to pass in a blur. I was working extra hard on my ranch, harvesting and feeding my animals. After convincing myself of leaving them; staying had been such a nice treat of sorts. I found new appreciation for almost everything on Castanet. Maybe it was because Yuuki had been changing things, but everything seemed brighter, more delicious, and more beautiful in general.

Gill stopped by daily, and we ate dinner together every night for the whole week. He'd complain about not being able to get work done and I'd tell him he was going to get grey hair early for worrying too much. I had time to ride horses with Kathy and Renee, and even go out to the bar a few nights to see drunk Owen sing drunken songs and eat some of Chase's delicious food. I couldn't believe I had tried to leave, and over some stupid paranoia. I knew Kurt was never going to find me here, I knew that he could never track me down, that Theodore wouldn't even tell him now that he had known. I knew that even if he found out, even if he knew exactly where I was and why: he wouldn't come. I would never see Kurt again.

But I was wrong.

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_DUN DUN DUUUNNNNN. oh noes! Cliffhanger? ish? Kinda? Meh._

_Sorry if this felt like not a lot happened D: BUT NEXT CHAPPY SOON :P_

_don't forget to review! i love to hear what you guys think!_

_LOVE YOU GUYS! :D _

_Oh! P to S. I drew some fanart up for this chapter because I felt so bad about it taking so long to update... Here it is ;P .com/#/d480kjs_


	21. Chapter 21, I Think He's Here

_I UPDATED! The clouds have parted! Cat's living with Dogs! Things have Changed! I.e, it's Christmas break and I can write what I want to again. HOORAY! _

_Well, here it is. And yes, the drama really unfolds, so I hope you like it!_

_Don't forget to Review! Love your encouragement, and I'm so sorry that took so long, hopefully the next update won't ;P_

* * *

I ran hastily up the road, my vision blurry and my head spinning. It couldn't have been him. I shook my head and picked up the pace, the little town now growing further and further away behind me. My lungs burned as I skidded around the corner, my ranch now in view. I knew I wasn't thinking straight, but all I wanted to do was get home and sort things out mentally. My footing somehow got caught and I fell to the ground, skidding across the dirt path. I lay in a heap, my sobs tearing through my shaking torso; it wasn't from the fresh scrapes that now adorned my arms and legs, but from what I had seen earlier.

I had gone to town to meet Gill for lunch and force him to put down his ledgers long enough to get some nourishment in him. I was about to climb the stairs to city hall when I saw the ferry pull up to the dock. I thought it was Selena, back from visiting her family, so I waited to wave to her. Pascal walked off and lowered the ramp; that's when I saw him. He walked slowly down the ramp, a large green backpack slung around his shoulders, his brown hair spiked up like always, the green camo headband tied tightly around his forehead. I froze, staring in wide eyed disbelief as Kurt's dark brown eyes scanned the town skyline, and landed on me. I felt something in my stomach tighten into a hard knot as he blinked, looking as stunned as I was. A smiled spread slowly across his face and I felt my legs shakily take me backwards, as he reached up to waved at me I turned and bolted, wanting nothing more than to get back to my ranch and sort things out.

He was here.

He had seen me.

I had to deal with this.

I pulled myself off the ground and continued to run shakily down the road, adrenaline the only thing keeping me going. I threw the door to my home opened and stumbled inside, slamming it and locking both locks before leaning against it panting as I gathered my thoughts. My mind was racing. I sank down to sit with my head in my knees, trying desperately to steady my breaths and stop crying.

I sat for what seemed an eternity before I started feeling the stinging of my cuts from the sharp gravel of the pathway. I stood shakily and investigated: there was dirt smeared down my clothing and scrapes on both my knees as well as my forearms. The most unfortunate was the little gash that ran down my cheek. Blood pooled around the torn skin, stinging constantly. I washed my face in the sink, and cleaned the rest slowly with a damp washcloth as I weighed my options.

I didn't want to wait around for Kurt to find me: I needed to tell someone. It had all happened so quickly though, I was hardly sure that what I had seen was indeed him. I changed my clothing quickly, slapping some band-aides over the cuts haphazardly.

He still hadn't come.

I wondered if he was asking people for information about me. I felt my gut tighten again, Would he use his real name? Not if he was smart.

The phone rang, startling me and practically making me jump out of my skin. I walked over to slowly and listened to it ring a few more times before picking it up shakily, my hand brought the phone slowly to my ear as I breathed into it,

"H-hello?" I whispered, my voice shaking,

"Hikari," A familiar voice responded, "Did you forget about me today?"

"Gill!" I let myself relax a little, the tension in my voice still staying; I drew a breath, "Gill, something's happened,"

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" He seemed to hear the distress in my words,

"I'm okay, I just… I need you to come here right away," I said as steadily as I could.

Just as I said that, I heard a knock. I spun around on my heels and stared wide eyed at the door,

"Yeah, Okay, I'm on my way alright?" I couldn't respond. I stared at the door, the phone still pressed to my face, "Hikari? Hikari are you there?"

"Y-yeah," I whispered into the receiver,

"Are you okay?" he sounded panicked,

"Gill,"

"Yes?"

"I think… I think he's here,"

* * *

_Gill POV_

I slammed the phone down on the receiver, my blood boiling. I swore loudly as I tore out of my office, making Elli jump,

"Gill, is everything okay?" She squeaked from behind her desk.

"Elli, have we had any tourists or new residents to the island in the past week?" I asked, walking swiftly to the door, I paused to hear her answer,

"N-no, not that I know of… Although…" she stopped for a moment,

"Although _what _Elli, this is important!" I shouted at her harshly, I'd have to apologize later,

"Although Pascal did go to the main land today, he returned not that long ago, I haven't had time to process anything he's sent in yet," She said with wide eyes. I swore again and slammed the door open, running out of the building and through the courtyard of city hall. I hurried down the stairs and continued headlong to Hikari's ranch.

I stopped at the foot of the road when I saw a man outside her door. I gritted my teeth as my hands balled into fists. The anger that rippled through my body was making me shake involuntary as I walked closer, each step bringing me towards the man who matched Hikari's description exactly. He was pounding on the door and yelling through the wood,

"Hikari!" Kurt shouted, "Look, I know you're there!"

He paused for a moment not hearing anything,

"Hikari, I'm sorry! I came to tell you I'm so sorry! For everything!"

"You!" I shouted, now only a few yards away. Kurt spun around and met me wide eyed, "What are you doing here?" I gritted the words out, still approaching him,

"Listen buddy, a friend of mine lives here, so if you could just give me a minute—"

"I don't think she's home," I said, glowering at him. His eyebrows furrowed as he turned towards to the door and banged on it again,

"Hikari I know you're in there!"

"I _said _I don't thinks she's home," I approached him, placing a hand firmly on his shoulder and spinning him around quickly. He was much bigger than I was, and more filled out; his physique matched Luke's and I was even more sure that he was _indeed _the carpenter from flower bud village Hikari had spoken of.

"Listen _buddy_," he spat down at me, "You don't want to start something you can't finish," His eyes grew dark, "I'm not looking for a fight—"

"Well, looks like you found one," I shoved him back, "Unless you leave now and never come back,"

He staggered for a moment before smirking, "Or what? Some little blonde kid is going to beat the shit out of me?" he chuckled darkly, "I seriously doubt it,"

"Leave now," I warned, he smirked again,

"Not until I see Hikari. I owe her something," He turned back to the door and my anger took over me. I dived at him, knocking to the ground. We fell together and he pinned me down under him, delivering a swift punch to the side of my face. I moved quickly and flipped him over; straddling him as my fist collided with his jaw, and then the other with the side of his eye. The door of the little house swung open just as he kicked me off, we continued our struggle, wrestling and punching and kicking in a mess on the ground, Hikari screamed down at us,

"Stop!" she shrieked over and over. Kurt pinned me down and brought his fist up for another blow when Hikari seemed to be screaming at someone else. Before I knew what was happening, Kurt was being dragged off of me as he swore and flung his arms around. Hikari ran to my side kneeling beside me and picking me up to rest on my elbows as Yuuki dragged Kurt away, holding his arms behind his back,

"Okay, okay, calm down," Yuuki grunted out as he struggled to control the man,

I sat up, and looked at Hikari, her eyes filled with tears,

"You're an idiot!" She hissed at me, taking in my appearance. I knew I was bruised up pretty badly; I reached up and wiped some blood off of my mouth, still glaring at Kurt who seemed to be calming down now. I was inwardly thankful that my arm had fully healed since the stiches or that could have ended very badly. Hikari brought her hand to my face lightly, and I turned my attention to her,

"Are you okay?" I asked taking her hand from my face and holding it as I sat up all the way. She nodded silently. I noticed a bandage placed on the side of her face, my free hand touched it lightly, "What's this?" I asked, my eyes narrowing and then shooting back to Kurt who Yuuki had released and was awkwardly standing beside as he caught his breath.

"I fell earlier," she murmured, when I glared at her, her eyes turned fierce, "It's true! I was in a hurry to get home." I smiled at her a little,

"I'm glad you're okay then,"

"I wish I could say the same for you," her eyes welled up a little before she pulled me into a tight hug. My arms wrapped around her protectively and I glared over at her Kurt, who was scowling down at us. She released me and help me stand, I was sure I was in worse shape than Kurt, but his eye was already blackening and his lip was bleeding so my sense of accomplishment was sufficient.

"So," Yuuki said, rocking back on his heels awkwardly, "What exactly is going on?"

"This," Hikari said darkly, "Is Kurt," I draped my arm over her shoulders, trying to look casual but really sending a very strong message to the man in front of us. Hikari leaned into me, as Yuuki realized who the man was. Most people on Castanet had heard of Kurt in one way or another, and since Renee knew, Yuuki knew.

"Oh," He said, trying to sound casual,

"I was just having a discussion with Kurt about his leaving. Immediately," My eyes narrowed but Kurt's grew larger,

"N-no!" he said suddenly, stepping towards us, "You don't understand!"

"Kurt," Hikari said evenly, "You need to leave."

"I won't!" He shook his head, "Can we just talk?" He paused and looked up at me then back to Yuuki, "alone?"

"No!" The three of us all said in unison, I dropped my arm off from Hikari's shoulder and took her hand instead,

"No Kurt," Hikari said evenly, "If you have something to say, just say it now,"

"Fine." He kicked the ground a little, "I'm just… I just…" he sighed and shook his head, "I needed to tell you that I'm sorry." Hikari's eyes looked huge as he apologized, "I know I messed up, and I messed up bad. After you left I just couldn't forgive myself. I tried to find you so many times to tell you, but, you were gone. I was stupid, I don't know what I was thinking but I promise I'll never, ever do anything like that again!" He seemed sincere but I didn't trust him at all. I squeezed Hikari's hand; I couldn't really read her surprised expression,

"Kurt I…" She stopped, dropping my hand and taking a few paces over to him. I felt my teeth grit again as she approached him,

"It's okay." He said offering her his hand, "You don't have to ever forgive me or anything like that," She stopped when she saw his hand.

"I don't forgive you," She said evenly, "But you did save me from the fire so, thank you." Yuuki's gaze met mine and we exchanged suspicious expressions as we looked back at Kurt. He took a step closer to her and I gritted my teeth, anxiety gripping me,

"Hikari, there was a time when we…" he trailed off as his hand slowly came up to her face. She slapped it away instantly and I took a few quick strides to stand beside her,

"Never again Kurt, you blew it. You blew it with me, and with Joe and with Blue and everyone on that island! Everyone knows exactly what you're like and I never want to see you again!" She yelled angrily, before slapping him once hard in the face and trudging back into her house, slamming the door behind her. We heard it lock from outside as we all stood in stunned silence. Kurt's expression grew dark as a snarl built at the side of his mouth,

"This is all _your _fault!" He said turning to me once more, "Hikari would never have treated me like this! And then _you _come along! Who are you even?" He was shouting in my face, Yuuki put a strong hand on his shoulder to remind him of his presence,

"Let's not do anything regretful, huh?" Yuuki said darkly,

"Regretful?" Kurt suddenly spun to face him, "You don't know the meaning of 'regret', you have no idea what it's like!" He fell to the ground suddenly, his head hung as breathed shallowly, "I'm so stupid," he mumbled as he sniffed; then he started to sob silently to himself. Yuuki looked at me, his eyebrows furrowed before puffing out a breath.

"There there," He said awkwardly, patting the man's shoulder, "it'll… uh… it'll be alright."

"Like Hell it will be," Kurt replied sharply.

"Look, you can't stay here," I finally interjected, "you must understand…"

"Yeah, I'll go." He stood slowly, wiping his nose on the back of his hand, "Sorry,"

Yuuki said he'd walk him down to the inn: the next boat would leave in the morning, so he'd unfortunately have to stay the night. I would have to call Owen and ask him to watch him: Kurt couldn't be trusted no matter how sorry he seemed.

Once I knew he was off the property I knocked lightly at the door or Hikari's house,

"It's me," I said, "He's gone,"

The door swung open and Hikari flew out, collapsing into me and sobbing heavily. I picked her up and carried her inside bridal style, kicking the door shut behind me and she grabbed handfuls of my shirt, still crying heavily. I carried her to the bed and sat down, her still on my lap and buried my face in her hair,

"It's okay," I soothed, "He's gone, he's not going to hurt you anymore, I promise," her crying settled to light sniffles. We sat for a while until she finally spoke,

"Di-did you see me slap him?" She looked up at me and grinned a little, I chuckled,

"Yeah, you did good," I tousled her hair and she laughed quietly, leaning her head into my neck, her warm breath tickling my skin lightly.

"Hey Gill?"

"Mmm?"

"Thank you," she nuzzled me a little and I breathed out a laugh,

"Don't worry," I replied. I swallowed and tasted a little bit of blood, "Um…"

"Yeah?"

"Do you… have any ice?" My eyes burned and my lip was swelling up something brutal. Hikari sat up quickly and inspected my face,

"Oh Gosh… Yes," She scampered off my lap and hurried into the kitchen, opening the freezer "I'm so sorry! You shouldn't have done that; you shouldn't have fought him or anything," she sniffed quickly and piled ice into a bag, I smirked at her,

"Yeah well…" I shrugged as she placed the ice over my face, cooing about my injuries. To be honest, it didn't hurt nearly as much as I thought it would.

"Hey, I'm staying here tonight okay?" I said after a while. We had been sitting on her bed talking for a while,

"Yes please!" She chirped quickly. I raised a brow at her teasingly, "N-no! Not like that! I just mean, you know! I – i!"

"I'm kidding, I know," I pulled her into my arms and we feel back into the bed, "I need to make sure you're alright okay?" I kissed the top of her head and let my mouth linger there, smelling her shampoo,

"Thanks," She murmured, leaning up to look me square in the eyes, "I love you," she pulled herself up and brought her lips against mine gently, shutting her eyes slowly as she pulled me closer to her by the shirt, I chuckled against her lips kissing her back,

"Don't get any smart ideas now," I said, teasing her gently with the promise of another kiss. Her eyes shot open and she glared at me stubbornly,

"I _wasn't_," she said, pulling me into another kiss,

"Okay good," I breathed, "Because otherwise I'll have to leave," she pouted and me and I laughed kissing her again, "Just so you know where we stand," She blinked at me twice before smiling,

"Obviously," she said snuggling into my chest once more, "Goodnight black-eyes," she chuckled when I flicked her forehead,

"Goodnight," I laughed quietly,

* * *

_YAY! The story is not over though my lovlies! Far from. I hope you keep reading despite my sporadic updates! :3  
_

_Don't forget to Review! I really love it when you guys do!_

_Special awesome thanks to violetfireflies who encouraged me awesomely to update and let me know people still cared about this story! Thank yooou! :D _


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